


File 02: The Ainsley House

by MistressEast



Series: First Order Investigations [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Altered Mental States, Blood, Ghosts, Hux is still a walking disaster please someone help him, Kylo Ren knows cars apparently, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Paranormal Investigators, Phasma is a flirt, Schizophrenia mention, but im keeping the relationship tag because, death mention, everyone is stressed, everything turns out okay i promise, gratuitous description of two people sitting very close to each other, i want everyone to be very clear on where this is going, i'll change the tags when it comes up, it's part of the history of the house sorry, kylo is not himself, let me know if i should tag anything else, listen technically this is preslash, medium!Kylo, schizophrenic ramblings, self-inflicted harm, some info on our favorite dad brendol hux get pumped, some real violence in later chapters though, things get hairy i hope you like it, tw asphyxiation, tw assault, tw slight gore, woefully inacurate car talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-19 15:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9447587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressEast/pseuds/MistressEast
Summary: After their disastrous investigation of the Marigold Plantation and the loss of most of their equipment, Hux certainly expected to be punished, and he was correct in his assumptions. A couple weeks of forced downtime later, First Order Investigations is on the road again, this time headed for a popular tourist attraction, the Ainsley House, the site of a grisly massacre in the early 1900s, and Hux quickly realizes that their humiliating time-out wasn't the end of Dr. Snoke's punishment.However, this impromptu vacation (as Phasma puts it) provides Hux with ample opportunity to learn more about his mysterious and infuriating teammate, the aloof medium Kylo Ren. Hux vividly remembers the moments they shared in South Carolina, and his previously ironclad perception of their relationship has started to crumble. As he reveals more and more of Kylo's humanity, and opens up to him in turn, Hux feels himself slipping down a path he never expected, one that scares him  more than he's willing to admit.But while the ghosts of the Ainsley House may be imaginary, the tragedy is all too real, and soon Hux finds himself face-to-face with the terrifying reality of Kylo's powers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! I told you there'd be another part! It's only been, what, four months? This is only the first chapter, but I promise I'm already hard at work on chapter 2, so expect that sometime before Christmas. I decided to do a chapter fic this time because I expect this one's going to be longer than the first part and I just wanted to try it out :) This is my first chapter fic though, so I reserve the right to go back and change anything at anytime.
> 
> I've changed my titling system because, if all goes well, there will be many "episodes" and I need to be able to keep track of them more efficiently. I loved the song lyrics but they were too artsy (the working title for this was "one breath, it'll just break it").
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented on and liked and bookmarked File 01. It really meant a lot to me and inspired me to work even harder. If I didn't respond to your comment, I'm sorry. Please know that every comment made me tear up with joy. (I do want to shout out specifically to Anakairata, who is part of why I even decided to post this chapter. Thank you so much!!)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Edit: fixed a typo

Armitage Alexis Hux is not a morning person.

For all of his calculated efficiency and dogged determination, Hux would rather stab his own eyes out than wake up before 9 am. He's always done his best work at night, blanketed in darkness and solitude, protected from the outside world by the still barrier of sleep. But ghost hunters keep odd hours, and Hux silently curses his chosen profession when his phone shakes him awake at 7 am.

He curses his past self for having the foresight to set an alarm as he fumbles the device until it stops. The RV is awash in the gentle blue glow of early morning sifted through closed blinds, and it's enough to see Kylo's silhouette still slumbering peacefully in his own bed. Dick. But Hux can't hate him too much. As soon as they got back to the university, Kylo disappeared to do some "emergency training" with Dr. Snoke, and when he met back up with Hux and Phasma before they left, he seemed incredibly exhausted. They'd had to drive through the night to reach the site, and even though Kylo offered to drive partway, Hux took one look at his slumped shoulders and under-eye circles and declined for his own safety.

Of course, that meant Hux drove the entire way to New Hampshire on his own, Phasma following behind in the car. They arrived around 4 am and then had to take the time to settle the Finalizer into a spot on the campground conveniently adjacent to the site, giving Hux less than three hours of sleep before he had to wake up to meet their contact. Hux can only imagine that Phasma is tired as well, but a glance at the bunk above his bed reveals that she's not there. Probably out hiking or something horrible. She was inordinately excited to learn their next assignment was in the mountains.

With a bone-deep sigh, Hux stumbles half-blind into the bathroom, snagging the shirt he dropped the night before and tugging it over his head. He shuts the door and flicks the light on, glaring blearily at his own reflection. Pale skin. Unkempt orange hair. At least the freckles that had popped up during their brief time in South Carolina had faded in the two weeks he'd spent sequestered at Arkanis University. Even though Hux suspects the long rest was more of a punishment for breaking their equipment than a break given out of the goodness of Dr. Snoke's heart, it had admittedly been nice to be home for a while. He keeps an apartment near the campus but rarely actually lives in it. Mostly it serves as a home for his cat, Millicent, and he'd enjoyed spending time with her. Dopheld Mitaka, the undergrad he'd bullied into looking after her, seemed nearly as happy to see him as she was. Millicent really only likes two people, and neither of them are Dopheld Mitaka.

But Hux constantly aches to be working, so when their humiliating time-out was up and Snoke tossed a case file across his desk, Hux was relieved. Until he read the file. Now he's just annoyed. 

Hux rubs his eyes vigorously and internally curses Dr. Snoke and his smug bald face. He understands that they're walking on thin ice after destroying the equipment on their last assignment, not to mention indirectly causing a house to collapse, but this is honestly insulting.

A shout from outside the bathroom startles him out of his brooding. "What?" he calls back.

"Have you seen my blue shirt?" Kylo's voice yells from somewhere in the RV.

Hux blinks. "Why would I know where _your_ clothes are, Kylo?"

"I left it out last night and now I can't find it!"

"Well, I don't see how that's--" Hux cuts off as he catches sight of his reflection again. The shirt he blindly grabbed and threw on in the scant dawn light as he stumbled his way into the bathroom is blue, far too big on him, and definitely not his.

He nearly dislocates his shoulder in his haste to pull it off.

"Hux?"

Cracking the bathroom door just wide enough to stick his arm out, Hux throws the balled-up shirt blindly into _The Finalizer's_ sleeping cabin, slightly gratified by the following cottony _whump_ and Kylo's muffled cursing. At least he hit him.

"What the hell?"

"You must have left it in here," Hux says, shutting the door firmly once more.

"You didn't have to throw it at me!"

Hux resolutely ignores Kylo's indignant shout in favor of resolutely ignoring the flush he can see spreading across his face. And, despite how exhausted he is, he even summons the energy to resolutely ignore how suddenly the whole bathroom smells of nothing but Kylo. 

Armitage Alexis Hux is _really_ not a morning person. 

\---

Like most things with sordid histories, the Ainsley House of Crescent Brook, New Hampshire is a popular tourist destination. It began life in the early 1900s as the home of the Ainsley family, built from the ground up by Joseph Ainsley, the family patriarch. He lived there, about half a mile outside of the town proper, with his wife, Anna, and their six children, as well as Mrs. Ainsley's brother, Charles, every fall. They were, by all accounts, a very happy family and well-liked by the townspeople. Mr. Ainsley ran a carpentry business out of his home and Mrs. Ainsley worked at a small bakery in the town. The children were all sweet and well-behaved, and their uncle was apparently a jovial man who doted on his sister's children like they were his own. Everything seemed completely normal, and, aside from a couple of strange deaths in the town a few month before, there was no indication that something horrific was about to happen.

What the townspeople didn't know about pleasant Mr. Ainsley was that he suffered from severe schizophrenia. Without the medical knowledge in place to diagnose and medicate him accordingly, Joseph Ainsley endured terrible auditory and visual hallucinations. Diary entries found after the incident spoke of long, dark shadows whispering in his ear, urging him to do horrible things. Unable to bear it much longer, Mr. Ainsley murdered a few townspeople in an attempt to placate his psychosis, but it didn't help. The voices wanted more. So, on the morning of October 14, 1910, Joseph Ainsley knocked his brother-in-law out with a hammer, tied him to a chair in the backyard, and shot him in front of the rest of his family. Then he hit Anna over the head, tied her up in the living room, and murdered the children one by one with a carving knife from the kitchen. The eldest daughter was stabbed once in the arm while running away and thrown out a second story window by her father, who clearly thought the fall had killed her, because she was able to drag herself away from the house and get to town for help. By the time the police arrived, Joseph Ainsley, covered in blood, still clutching the knife, was sitting on the couch in the living room, cradling his wife's dead body and muttering. When he saw the police, he started laughing. And he kept laughing as he raised the knife and slit his own throat, the sound morphing into a wet, rasping gurgle--

"--that some say you can still hear, if you listen hard enough." The tour guide pauses theatrically, as though she's listening for the echoing mirth of a dying man.

Hux rolls his eyes.

"The police searched the house," the tour guide continues, tossing her long, multi-colored hair behind her, "and found the bodies of the five children. The youngest son was found curled up in the attic, as though he'd been trying to hide from his murderous father."

The tour group mutters and shifts like a flock of restless birds and Hux clenches his fists to keep from screaming. Beside him, Phasma is absolutely beaming, drinking in every dramatic word the tour guide utters with a countenance of perverse glee.

"You're actually enjoying this tripe?" Hux hisses as the group sweeps them along to the living room.

"Um, of course," Phasma whispers back. "This is grade-A capitalist American gothic, Hux." She peers at a framed picture on the wall. Despite the slightly dusty glass, Hux can make out a black-and-white photo of a chair sitting in the grass. The card beneath it reads _The chair where Charles Beck was found shot to death_. "Eight people died horrific deaths to make this place famous, five of them children, and white middle-class families see it as a perfect day trip for the kids. The irony is palpable."

Hux can't argue with her, especially as he watches two young boys chase each other down a hallway, right past a white painted outline that he knows is labeled: William Ainsley, age 7. Nevertheless, he turns to Kylo, who's been at his hip practically since the moment they stepped into the house, expecting back-up, but Kylo's attention is clearly elsewhere.

Hux follows his line of sight to the ornate velvet couch dominating the center of the living room. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything odd about it, but Kylo's face is furrowed, his gaze distant.

Before Hux can ask what's wrong, the tour guide (who introduced herself as Crystal or Harmony or something) begins speaking again, flourishing one hand toward the couch. "And here is where they found Joseph Ainsley, and where he died, choking on his own blood, cradling his dead wife, whom he had strangled to death with his bare hands." She casts a meaningful look at the group. "Joseph Ainsley killed everyone in the house with a carving knife, except Anna. No one knows for sure why, but Anna's restless spirit has been known to leave visitors with a necklace of bruises, just like hers."

Hux shakes his head. "They're just making stuff up now," he mumbles. The stories surrounding the Ainsley House have made it a popular stop on any Haunted America road trip, but according to Hux's research, that's all they are--stories. Despite multiple investigations by reputable paranormal teams, there is no evidence of genuine paranormal activity in the Ainsley House. It's all sensation to keep the tourists coming in. Hardly worth a second of their time. Yet here they are.

"They have to." Kylo's low voice in his ear is unexpected and Hux starts slightly, suddenly very aware of Kylo's solid warmth directly behind him. "It's the only thing keeping this place running."

Hux scoffs. "It's embarrassing. And childish."

"Some would say that hunting ghosts is embarrassing and childish."

"Ha ha." Hux jabs his elbow back sharply into Kylo's ribs, satisfied by the pained huff that follows. "If there weren't children around, I'd let you know exactly what I think of that opinion."

"Oh, I have faith that you can do it anyway." Kylo's voice is teasing, and Hux is in half a mind to turn around and prove him right, but Crystal or Harmony or something is loudly and mercifully bringing the tour to a close.

"I hope you enjoyed the grisly tale of the ill-fated Ainsley family," she says solemnly, gesturing toward a room that used to be a receiving room but now houses a small gift shop. "I hope you'll take the time to visit our gift shop, but keep your eyes peeled for wandering spirits." With one more wide-eyed look, she leaves and the group begins to dissolve, much to Hux's relief.

"Thank god that's over," Hux groans, trailing behind Phasma as she bounces into the gift shop. "This is such a waste of time. Right?" He glances at Kylo, only to find him once again staring blankly at the living room. "Kylo."

"Huh?" Kylo says eloquently, swiveling to focus on Hux.

"There's nothing here, right? Your ghost sensors aren't going off, are they?"

"They're not _ghost sensors_ , Christ, I'm not Spiderman."

"Don't be deliberately obtuse, just answer the question."

Kylo sighs, like _he's_ the long-suffering one. "No," he says begrudgingly. "I can't feel anything here."

Hux regards him critically. Perhaps his distracted behavior is just Kylo being Kylo. He almost asks about it, but just then Phasma calls his name and he turns to her, dismissing the small inkling of concern.

"Hux!" She waves two objects at him. "What do you think: should I get the carving knife earrings or the carving knife paperweight?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Yeah, you're right. Who uses paperweights anymore?"

Hux raises a hand to his temple as she prances over to the register. Maybe if he presses hard enough, he can force the headache back into his skull.

Kylo chuckles and Hux shoots him a glare. 

"I'm so glad you're enjoying this," he snaps.

"Well, you know what they say about lemons and lemonade."

"That I hate both of them?"

Kylo frowns at him. "You hate lemonade?"

"Hux hates everything," Phasma says, sliding up beside them, a small waxy paper bag in one hand. "Are you surprised?"

Kylo tilts his head in an _I guess you're right_ gesture and Hux scowls, crossing his arms.

"Anyway," Phasma continues, "Kylo's right. Even if this assignment is a joke, we can't leave, so we may as well enjoy ourselves. Just think of it as a vacation."

"I hate vacations." Kylo huffs out a laugh and Hux raises an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You're such a cliché, Hux," Kylo grins.

Before Hux can put his fist through Kylo's nose, Frederick Keller, the house's current owner, bustles up to them, smiling expectantly.

"So?" He entreats, glancing around the group with shining eyes. "What do you think?"

Hux schools his face into an approximation of his usual cool professionalism. "The house's history is intriguing, Mr. Keller." It's a safe, vague answer, but Keller seems pleased nonetheless.

"Yes, yes, it's quite gruesome," he says cheerfully. "We haven't had a paranormal investigation group here in several years, so this is very exciting. We're very glad to have you."

"We're glad to be here," Hux forces out. Phasma bites her lip and Hux cuts her a warning look. "We'd like to begin as soon as possible. When can we start setting up?"

"Well, the house is open for tours until five, so you'll probably want to wait until then."

Hux grits his teeth. It's barely noon now, which means they have to wait five hours to even get this ridiculous charade started. "Okay," he says evenly. "Would you happen to have a map or blueprint of the building?"

"Oh, yes! I've got a map in my office. Let me go grab it." Keller hurries off.

Hux puts his hands over his eyes. "I'm going to die."

"Oh, _relax_." Phasma slings an arm around his shoulders. "It's one job. You'll be fine."

Hux smoothes his hands back through his hair before letting them drop to his sides. "It's humiliating."

"Maybe Dr. Snoke just wants to give us some time to cool off. Like a break."

Rolling his eyes, Hux glances at Kylo, but finds him once again staring through the doorway into the living room. "Maybe."

"Hey," Phasma says, jostling Hux slightly in her grip. "Since we've got a few hours, why don't we go into town? I've gotta eat soon anyway."

Hux grimaces. "I've got paperwork to--"

"Awesome, we'll get a bite, do some sight-seeing , and just chill." Phasma shakes him again, releasing him as Keller hustles up to them again.

Hux swallows a sigh.

\---

"Man, this town really likes the Ainsley House," Kylo marvels, peering through the car window as they pass yet another 'Official Ainsley House Gift Shop.'

Hux hums in slightly befuddled agreement, staring in disbelief at a building called _Ainsley Knives and Kitchenware_. "It's...excessive." 

"Well, when you consider that the Ainsley House probably brings in most of the town's revenue, it's not that weird," Phasma contends, turning on to a side street.

Hux wrinkles his nose at a billboard dripping in red paint and wishing visitors a 'bloody good time.' "It's creepy."

"You're right about that." Phasma casts him a wide grin. "Anyway, I think I saw a diner around here when we drove through last night."

Hux groans and Kylo echoes him from the back seat. "Phasma, I'm pretty sure I got athlete's foot at the last 'diner' you took us to."

"Think I got listeria at that place in Virginia," Kylo grumbles.

Phasma glances at them both with disgust in her eyes. "You guys are weak."

Hux and Kylo's protests are all for naught, however, because Phasma pulls into the parking lot of a greasy-looking diner anyway. She shifts into park and a dull _thunk_ sounds through the car.

Hux furrows his brows. "What was that?"

"Oh yeah," Phasma says, unconcerned as she unbuckles her seatbelt. "The car started doing that again last night."

"What? Seriously?" Hus stares at the dashboard in dismay. "This car is only two years old, it shouldn't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" Kylo sits forward, arms braced on the front seats.

"Making that--" Hux gestures vaguely, frowning, "--sound. It started doing this last year too and the guy charged us four hundred dollars to fix it. Said it was the belt or something." Hux rubs his forehead, feeling the unfortunate beginnings of a migraine creeping across his temples. "This is just. Excellent. Exactly what I need."

"I could take a look at it if you want," Kylo says casually.

Hux looks at him, eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"Sure. You got a jack? Sounds like it could be a u-joint."

"Yes, we have a--wait--" Hux frowns as he processes this new information. "You can fix cars?"

Kylo smirks at him, eyes glittering. "I own a motorcycle." 

"Yes, but that's different. I just assumed that was one of your _things_."

Kylo tilts his head, mouth quirked up on one side. "One of my _things_?"

Hux can feel his cheeks growing warm as he searches for the right words. "I mean--just--like the long hair and the sullen personality, all of that. I assumed it was only natural for you to have a motorcycle."

Kylo looks far too pleased for Hux's liking. "That's an interesting conclusion, Hux."

"You know what?" Hux snaps, ears burning and face surely an embarrassing shade of crimson by now. "Shut up."

"Both of you shut up," Phasma groans from outside the car, stooping over to glare at both of them. Hux didn't even notice her getting out. "And come _on_. I'm hungry."

The diner is just as greasy and disgusting on the inside as it is on the outside. A thin film of grime seems to cover the whole place, from the plastic tabletops to the defunct jukebox festering in the corner. Phasma is in heaven.

They slide into a red nylon corner booth, Hux taking care not to get caught on the splits in the material where he can see stuffing leaking out. Kylo settles in beside him, slouching slightly, unending legs sprawled carelessly under the table. They're not touching, but Kylo's thigh is so close to his that Hux swears he can feel the heat bleeding through his pants and soaking into his skin. He ignores it and focuses on unpacking his messenger bag.

A curvaceous dark-skinned waitress sways over to their table and Hux watches as Phasma visibly straightens from her easy lounge, covertly sweeping her short hair out of her face, and he rolls his eyes. 

Hux orders coffee and eggs with a side of turkey bacon, dutifully abstaining from the pancake platter out of concern for the quality of the ingredients in this establishment. He half-listens as Kylo orders something called a "lumberjack special" and Phasma requests pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Hux catches her squinting at him before turning to the waitress to adjust her order.

The waitress, whose nametag reads _Desta_ , leaves with a wink and Hux opens his laptop.

"Hux, what the fuck are you doing?" Phasma asks.

"Work."

"You did that already. I was there."

"Snoke gave me more," Hux mumbles, typing diligently. He had been surprised when Dr. Snoke informed him that the grant committee needed more materials, but there's nothing he can do about it. Maintaining this grant is practically a full-time job. Each time Hux thinks he's done, Snoke slaps him with more requirements.

"Did you see Millicent while we were home?" Phasma says, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Yes, she's fine, if a bit grumpy."

Phasma snorts. "When is she not grumpy."

Kylo sits up slightly. "Who's Millicent?"

"My cat," Hux replies distractedly.

"You have a cat?" Kylo sounds surprised and Hux stops typing long enough to glare at him.

"Yes, why?"

Kylo grins, shaking his head. "No reason. I guess it's just one of your _things_." Before Hux can kick him under the table, the waitress arrives with their drinks.

Hux tunes the other two out and focuses on his laptop screen, occasionally sifting through the stack of paper beside him or taking a sip of coffee. He keeps meticulous records of their investigations, so it's easy to find what he's looking for, but the whole process is tedious and complicated. Hux has always had a certain perverse fondness for paperwork and note-taking, but even he's getting sick of this.

Kylo nudges him when their food arrives and he closes the laptop with a sigh, sliding it aside and pulling his plate closer.

"When is that stuff due, anyway?" Phasma asks around a mouthful of bacon while Kylo attacks his food with violent enthusiasm.

Hux shrugs, prodding his eggs with his fork. "I'm not sure. I usually just send it all to Snoke when I'm finished and he takes care of it."

Phasma frowns, swallowing. "That's kind of weird." She pours strawberry syrup all over one of her two plates of pancakes.

"I think the grant requires constant proof of concept or something." Hux sets his fork down and picks up his coffee. The eggs don't seem very appetizing anymore. "It's a lot of money, and it's not like there are many like it out there."

Phasma hums thoughtfully before silently pushing a stack of pancakes across the table with one finger.

Hux rolls his eyes but doesn't have the energy or the desire to refuse. 

When they've finished their food and the waitress comes back to collect their dishes, Hux asks for a refill on his coffee, opening his laptop once more.

"I'll be right back," Phasma mutters, eyes fixed on the waitress's retreating figure, before sliding out of the booth.

Hux barely spares her a glance, used to her constant flirting, but Kylo watches her go with some small degree of amazement.

"Every _single_ time," he mutters.

"I'm surprised you're not used to it by now."

Kylo shakes his head, and when Hux glances at him from the corner of his eye he can see a small smile on Kylo's face.

Hux takes a deep breath, staring intently at his computer screen. "So, Kylo," he begins conversationally. Kylo turns his body to face him, leaning one arm on the table. "What did you do with Dr. Snoke while we were home? I barely saw you."

At the mention of Dr. Snoke, Kylo seems to buckle slightly, hunching in on himself and slumping over the table. "Nothing," he mutters. "Just training."

Hux is not completely unsympathetic, and it's clear the Kylo doesn't want to talk about it, but his curiosity gets hold of his tongue before he can do anything to stop it. "What exactly does _training_ entail for a medium?" he asks.

Kylo snorts. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I would. That's why I asked."

"Thought you didn't believe in this--" Kylo waves a hand vaguely around his own head, "--stuff."

Hux blows out a breath, fingers flexing over his keyboard. "As loathe as I am to admit it, I have found my initial misgivings about the existence of your--" he pauses, casting about for the right word, "-- _abilities_ to be incorrect. I believe I have expressed that to you already."

Kylo shrugs. "I never heard an apology."

"I'm not going to--" Hux takes a deep breath, turning his head to face Kylo. "I am conceding the point to you. Isn't that enough?"

"I guess." A grin, wide and wolfish, stretches across Kylo's features. "For now."

Hux narrows his eyes but doesn't press the issue, returning his attention to his screen.

After a moment, Kylo leans back in the booth, stretching his arms over his head. He lets out a satisfied groan that makes Hux twitch slightly before allowing his arms to fall across the back of the booth, one settling behind Hux, just inches from his back. Hux is abruptly very aware how close Kylo still is. There's plenty of room in the booth; there's no reason for Kylo to be sitting mere centimeters away. Of course, there's plenty of room next to Hux as well, but he still feels no impetus to move. It's almost relaxing, in a way , sitting in the radius of Kylo's body heat. Every inhale brings an infusion of the same scent that lingered when he ejected Kylo's shirt from the bathroom that morning, a smell similar to foliage after a rainstorm. Absently, Hux realizes it must be Kylo's natural scent, since he's never seen evidence of any aftershave in the months they've been living together. He then realizes how absurd he's being and violently crushes every vaguely sentimental thought that crosses his mind. No doubt, Kylo only remained so close in order to mess with Hux, and Hux should be irritated, not...not....

"You know," Kylo starts casually, like he didn't just short-circuit Hux's entire brain. "You talk kind of weird."

Hux bristles, all warm feelings evaporating. "Excuse me?" Psychic powers his ass, Kylo Ren's true talents lie in driving Hux up the wall.

"Like, you talk like a lawyer."

Hux blinks. "What?"

"You have this really precise way of speaking," Kylo replies thoughtfully. "Like you have to be really specific and say everything a certain way or you'll get in trouble."

Hux stares openly at the side of Kylo's face where it's turned pensively to the ceiling. Phasma has teased him playfully throughout the years for his manner of speaking, calling him a walking dictionary and the like, and other children had teased him less playfully during school for "talking like a teacher," so it's not like he's unaware of how he sounds to other people, but he never expected Kylo to pinpoint him so exactly.

"That's just the way I was raised," he says as neutrally as he can manage. "My father demanded a high level of professionalism in every aspect of his life."

Kylo looks at Hux, eyebrows raised. "Your father the paranormal researcher?"

"Yes, _that_ Father."

"Is that where you got your accent too?"

Hux rolls his eyes. "Well, when one is surrounded by individuals who speak a certain way while one is learning to talk, it's reasonable to expect one to speak the same way, is it not?"

"Your dad's British?"

"Astute extrapolation, Kylo, very well done."

"But he lives here, right?"

Hux sighs, folding his hands in his lap. It doesn't look like he's going to get any more work done here. "Yes, we moved to America when I was nine years old."

"Why?"

"You are awfully inquisitive today, Kylo."

"I want to get to know my team member," Kylo says easily. "I've been with you guys for a while now and I still don't know anything about you. Well, I thought I did, but--" the corners of his mouth pull into a mean smirk, "--apparently everything I knew about you was actually a lie."

"They weren't lies, they--" Hux cuts himself off, eyes narrow and spine stiffening. "It isn't like you've been particularly open with us, either. I didn't give you any false information, I simply...."

"Let me be wrong."

"I didn't disavow you of your incorrect assumptions," Hux corrects him, meeting Kylo's appraising expression with what he hopes is a steely gaze. "I didn't see a reason to."

Kylo holds his stare for a few beats but it feels far longer to Hux as he's trapped in the critical beam of Kylo's bottomless eyes like a slide under a microscope. Finally Kylo opens his mouth and says quietly, "Do you see a reason now?"

Hux swallows, forcing his heart back into his chest. "Should I?" It's Kylo's call whether or not he wants to be a real part of the team. Until recently, he seemed to be keeping his distance, like he was prepared to leave at any time, but maybe now he wants something more. Hux tries not to ponder how much he wants that to be the case.

Kylo's eyes soften. "I think so."

Hux's heart hammers in response. "Very well." With a perfectly stable hand, he closes his laptop gently and relaxes against the back of the booth. He half-expects Kylo to move his arm now that he's practically leaning against it, but Kylo just refocuses his attention on Hux, showing no sign that he even knows. "My father, step-mother, and I had to move to America when I was nine because my father was becoming very well-known in the UK and it was beginning to affect our privacy."

"Your dad is famous?"

"In a way." Hux considers Kylo for a second. "Have you ever heard of the Castle Cary tapes?"

A light flicks on behind Kylo's eyes as they widen in recognition. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard of those, everyone has. They're one of the most undeniable pieces of paranormal evidence. I've probably watched them a million times."

Hux nods. "My father recorded them."

"You're shitting me."

"Unfortunately," Hux sighs, "I am not. When I was eight, he and his research partner captured the tapes and our family was suddenly rocketed into the spotlight. The tapes were huge, not just in Britain, obviously, and they reinvigorated paranormal investigation all over the world. The public was fascinated, of course, and my father and his partner were pestered to appear on talk shows and news programs, but they refused." Hux clasps his hands in his lap. "They weren't even investigators, just researchers. They'd only been in Castle Cary to conduct some interviews and they decided to set up a few cameras in the town church. They weren't interested in becoming celebrities. My father's partner actually moved away shortly after the tapes were made public because he couldn't take the hounding."

"It was that bad?"

"It was terrible," Hux says somberly, brows knit as the memories wash over him. "Reporters practically lived outside our house. One tried to pick me up from school by claiming to be my uncle. If the school hadn't phoned my mother to confirm, there's no telling what could have happened."

"Jesus."

"Yeah. And it only got worse when my father's partner moved, because suddenly it looked like something untoward was going on." Hux snorts. "As if his moving had something to do with the tapes and not with the constant media pressure. After that, the validity of the tapes as well as my father's reputation was called into question and the attention got very nasty. We received death threats and our house was vandalized frequently. Eventually my father gave up all rights to the recording and we moved. We didn't have many other options."

"Fuck, Hux." Kylo sounds shocked, shaking his head slowly. "I had no idea."

"Good. That's the entire reason we moved."

"After all that, I'm amazed you still wanted to hunt ghosts. You must really respect your dad."

Hux freezes, breath caught in his throat. "That's...not...quite it," he says carefully.

Kylo cocks his head. "Then what is it?"

"It's silly."

"Really?" 

"Yes. And it doesn't matter anyway."

"It matters to me." Kylo says it with such surety that it brings Hux up short, at a loss for how to respond. "Does Phasma know?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Then I should know!" Kylo insists. "Tell me!"

Hux stares at him in bewilderment. "You really are persistent," he says exasperatedly.

Kylo sticks his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout, widening his eyes until Hux can see the diner's grimy fluorescent lights reflected in them and furrowing his eyebrows. Overall, the effect on Kylo's distinctive face is quite comical and Hux has to muffle a surprised giggle behind his hand.

"Please?" Kylo begs, leaning into Hux even more. "Come on, Hux, _please_?"

"You're incorrigible." But Hux finds himself smiling.

"Is that a yes?"

"Fine, you ridiculous child," Hux concedes, thumping a hand lightly against Kylo's chest.

Kylo drops the pleading look, a satisfied smile replacing the foolish pout, but Hux notices that he doesn't lean back.

"My father is indeed a very respectable man," Hux begins, "but I didn't go into this line of work out of respect for him. When I was in middle school, I began showing interest in ghosts and the like, but my father didn't approve. He approved of very little of what I did," Hux mutters, looking down at his hands, lost in thought for a moment. He suddenly remembers himself and clear his throat, looking back up. "Anyway, one day he made an offhand comment that any work I did would be overshadowed by his own career and that nothing would ever approach the impact of the Castle Cary tapes."

Kylo's gaze narrows in realization. "And you took that as a challenge."

Hux smiles, pleased. "I did."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Perhaps because I'm, what is it that Phasma calls me? _Combative_."

Kylo opens his mouth like he's about to speak, something glittering deep in his eyes, but before he can make a sound, Phasma slides into the booth across from them.

"What about me?" she asks, glancing suspiciously between them. Kylo stiffens and edges away from Hux, removing his arms from the back of the booth to fold them on the table while Hux clears his throat and deliberately looks away, face suddenly burning.

"Nothing," he answers tightly, busying his hands with packing his laptop back into his messenger bag. "We weren't talking about you."

Phasma eyes them for a moment longer as though she doesn't believe him, but visibly gives up the matter with a shrug. "So Desta says there's a _mystery spot_ here in town," she says eagerly. "One of those super cheesy old-fashioned ones with the furniture nailed to the ceiling and stuff. We've _got_ to check it out."

Once again, Hux can feel the migraine settling in behind his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team mends and fractures and there are still no ghosts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaaaat? Two postings in two days?? Please don't get used to it. I was inspired to finally finish this chapter and figured I shouldn't keep people waiting. I hope you enjoy!

The Ainsley House is a decently large two story cabin with an attic and a root cellar, hand-built by Joseph Ainsley for his family when he and Anna moved to Crescent Brook. The downstairs consists of a receiving room (now a gift shop), a kitchen, a large pantry, a washroom, and a living room. The upstairs contains four large bedrooms, including a master suite, and two more washrooms. The attic is all one open space, obviously used for storage and accessed by a narrow staircase behind a door in the master bedroom. The root cellar was filled with cement and sealed off when the House opened for business in an attempt to stabilize the foundation, which is indeed cracking. A wide wooden porch wraps all the way around the cabin. As a building, it's an interesting example of early 20th century craftsmanship. As a haunted house, it's driving Hux batty. 

He stares in dismay at the blueprints provided by the House's owner, which are spread out over the table in the _Finalizer_ , like usual, but that's where the logical familiarity ends.

"Are you gonna say something, or...?"

Hux flicks an irritated glance at Kylo, who's standing at his elbow instead of sprawling across the bench like he normally does. "As soon as there is something worth saying, yes."

Kylo snorts softly. "That's not your usual modus operandi."

Hux rolls his eyes but doesn't take the bait, looking instead back to his notes. As much as he loves arguing with Kylo, he's far too annoyed to take any pleasure in it. In fact, the longer he looks at his notes, the more his annoyance edges into distress and Hux can feel his chest beginning to tighten. Because there's _nothing_. There's just nothing. Beyond the doubtlessly elaborated and incongruent accounts of "cold winds" and "children's voices", the Ainsley House is deader than its former occupants. No specific places in the House seem more or less active than any others, so they may as well set up potted plants in place of cameras for all they good they'll do. He supposes he could just place them randomly, but the thought of allowing such disorder into his carefully crafted routine makes his hair stand on end.

"It's just--" Hux breaks off on a frustrated huff, squeezing the marker in his hand so tightly his knuckles ache in protest. "There's no _point_ , there's nothing here, I don't--"

"How many rooms are in the House?" Kylo asks, bringing Hux up short.

"Eleven, including the pantry," Hux replies automatically.

"And how many cameras do we have?"

A quick tally. "Ten. And fifteen audio recorders."

Kylo looks down at the map for a beat, expression contemplative, and Hux finds himself transfixed. It's not often he gets to see Kylo deep in thought. The medium's expressions generally range from teasing to sour with many variations of recalcitrant in between. After a moment, Kylo seems to come to a decision and reaches out to take the marker from Hux's hand.

Hux relinquishes it in surprise, which only mounts as Kylo leans over the table and deftly marks a handful of exes on the blueprints. He then reaches for the green marker and puts down a few more. He smiles as he hands the markers back to Hux, who is too shocked to react. "The house is small enough that we can just use the portable EMF detectors and not worry about setting up the permanent ones," he says, sounding sure of himself.

Hux blinks absently at him for a beat. "That...could work."

"It'll be fine."

"Hm." Hux looks back at the map, eyeing the marks Kylo made. The spots he chose are as logical as any, given they have no real data. A flicker of relief eases the tension in his chest somewhat. The marks are already made, so it's out of his hands now. He can stop thinking about it.

"I meant what I said, you know, back in South Carolina," Kylo says, leaning against the table and drawing Hux's attention. The late afternoon sun streams in through the window behind Kylo, backlighting him with a halo of hazy gold light. His eyes look impossibly deep.

"You said a lot of things back in South Carolina."

"You're very sure of yourself, so you don't let people help you."

Hux busies his hands gathering all the markers together. "Are you my therapist now?"

"It's okay sometimes. To let other people help."

Hux avoids Kylo's eyes, placing the markers down on the table. He doesn't want to talk about this right now. He's lost count of how many times Phasma has tried to force this discussion to happen, so it's not like he doesn't know he may have a slight problem. However, the last person he wants to call him out on it is Kylo "I just know" Ren.

"Seriously, you--"

"Listen, Kylo," Hux cuts him off, meeting his eyes with some effort. "It's not that I don't appreciate your...concern, assuming it is concern as opposed to a very roundabout way of making fun of me--" Kylo huffs out a small laugh. "--and I'm sincerely thrilled that we're getting along somewhat more amicably. But don't you think it's a bit hypocritical for you to be preaching to me about accepting help from others?"

Kylo holds his gaze, a question written on his face.

"If I remember correctly," Hux begins, putting a hand on his hip, "you were nearly crushed when the plantation collapsed because you wanted to stay behind and, what was it? Distract the ghost?"

"I was saving your life," Kylo says vehemently, pushing away from the table and drawing up to his full height.

Hux lifts an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You were being dramatic and taking all the responsibility on yourself. And before that, you were refusing to tell anyone about what you were feeling, just giving orders and making decisions all on your own. You ran off and drove around on your bike all night, for fuck's sake!" Hux's exasperation begins to seep into his words, memories of how worried, how angry he'd been when Kylo just disappeared making his pulse quicken. "You were nearly unconscious when you came back!"

"That was--!"

"Reckless and stupid," Hux interrupts. "It was you not letting us help. You were so sure of yourself that you refused to ask for help and we both nearly died."

"Don't put that on me!" Kylo growls. "Going to the house alone was your stupid decision. If I hadn't shown up, you would have been killed!"

"Be that as it may, it was your fault Emmanuel was after me in the first place!"

"I can't control it when spirits latch on to me!" Kylo runs a hand through his hair frantically. "God knows why he thought you were important to me."

Hux scowls. "Coming to rescue me didn't do much to disprove him, now did it?"

"Would you have preferred I let you die?" Kylo's eyes are wild.

"Maybe!"

"Fuck! Hux, you're so--!" Kylo breaks off on a frustrated snarl, slamming one clenched fist onto the table.

"What?!" Hux yells. "So what?! What am I, Kylo?!"

"I don't know!" The words burst from Kylo like thorns. "I don't know what you are, but it's--" Kylo groans, pulling at his hair. "It's driving me fucking insane!"

"Welcome to the fucking club!" Hux shouts, hands clenched at his sides, just itching to grab Kylo by his collar and rattle his dense brain right out of his head. "You've driven me insane since the moment we met! You're so goddamn-- _infuriating_ , sometimes I just want to--" he makes a violent squeezing motion with his hands, unable to articulate the feeling in words.

"I know you hate having me here, you don't have to--!"

"Did I say that?" Hux asks loudly, cutting him off. "Listen to what I'm fucking saying, Kylo, for once in your fucking life--"

"No, no, you told me, you said--!"

"I've said a lot of things, but if you would just--!"

"You _told_ me you hated having me here--"

"Oh, like you're thrilled to be here, don't make me laugh--"

"How do you know I'm not?!"

"Even if you are, I'll never know, because you never fucking tell me anything!"

"Well, now I'm telling you this: I don't hate being here!"

"That's fucking excellent because I don't hate having you here!"

"You--!" Kylo breaks off on a heavy breath, eyes wide, fixed on Hux.

Hux's chest heaves as he catches his breath, catches up to what he said. "God," he mutters, covering his face with his hands, trying to collect himself. "Fuck."

For a moment, the only sounds in the RV are their racing breaths. Then, Hux hears a laugh. Incredulous, he lowers his hands to see Kylo attempting to hide a grin, laughter tumbling out of him like a cascade of stones.

"What?"

"It's just--" Kylo snorts. "We're both--" an attack of giggles interrupts him and Hux watches in alarm as he doubles over, shaking with laughter until he collapses onto the bench behind him. 

The sight is unprecedented, ludicrous. Kylo Ren incoherent with laughter right in front of him. It isn't possible. But here it is. The absurdity of what he's witnessing flicks a switch somewhere inside him and suddenly he's laughing too. He's not sure why, but he can't help the laughter rolling through him.

He falls onto the bench opposite Kylo, struggling to regain control of himself. He's nearly delirious with it by the time he manages to calm the mirth bubbling out of him. He sucks in a few breaths while, across from him, Kylo is finally settling as well.

Kylo leans both arms on the table, a wan smile on his face. "We're both idiots."

Hux hums, folding his hands in his lap. "It seems that we still can't have normal conversations."

"We were doing okay this afternoon."

At that, Hux returns Kylo's smile. "That's true."

The air, still ringing with the aftershocks of their explosive argument, begins to quiet, coming to rest around them. In the stillness, Hux realizes that he's just sitting there, smiling at Kylo like a sot, appreciating the way the sunlight paints half of Kylo's distinctive face gold, and he clears his throat.

"Well, now that's settled, we should start setting up," he says curtly, rising and tugging on his shirt to straighten it.

Kylo leans back a bit. His smile is gone but his face hasn't closed over the way it does when he's upset. "You got it, boss."

Hux smirks, organizing the materials on the table. "You should call me that more often."

Standing, Kylo crosses around him, presumably to begin gathering the equipment. "Don't count on it."

"Of course not. I'd never count on you to be respectful, Kylo." It's so easy, so natural to fall back into their familiar dynamic, like they weren't just screaming at each other.

Kylo snorts and then he's out the door, leaving Hux alone in the RV with the map, the markers, and the late afternoon sun.

\---

As Hux or anyone with a functioning brain stem could have predicted, nothing much happened that night.

After Phasma returned from town, they set up base in the gift shop, within easy access of the front door, and ran through the routine of setting up the equipment, running cables, taking initial readings, and generally preparing for lock-up. Due to the size of the building, they were done in plenty of time, despite Hux and Kylo's unscheduled fight in the RV. So when night fell, they began the investigation just as they normally would, alternating between walking the house and monitoring the base. The only difference was that, this time, nothing happened.

Hux shakes his head, closing out of yet another useless video file.

Phasma glances up from what she's doing, moving her headset off of one ear. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." Hux blows out a sigh, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. It's just after noon and he's nearly halfway through the footage from last night, sitting with Phasma in the sunlit cabin of the _Finalizer_ , and so far it's been nothing but a test of his patience--a test he's quickly failing.

The only thing of note that's even vaguely sticking in his mind is Kylo's slightly odd behavior from last night. He seemed distracted during the entire lock-up, and Hux kept noticing him drifting toward the living room. The footage from the living room shows Kylo wandering through several times, looking slightly lost. Around 4 in the morning, the camera caught him sinking hesitantly onto the sofa and staring at his knees for nearly ten minutes before Hux's voice called him back to base. It's a bit strange but certainly not the weirdest thing Kylo's ever done. With no other evidence forthcoming, Hux is prepared to chalk Kylo's aimless hovering up to boredom. Hux himself is definitely bored, especially after the excitement of their last assignment, so he can sympathize.

Currently, Kylo is outside, working on the car like he said he would. If Hux listens closely, he can hear the muffled sounds of tools clanking together as Kylo uses his hitherto undiscovered skill to save them a trip to the mechanic.

Hux allows himself another minute to relax. He's tired, from the lock-up last night and the long drive the night before, but also just in general. Phasma's puzzlement over the grant forms reminded him how much Snoke really doesn't tell him. He puts up with it because he sees Dr. Snoke and his metaphysical research graduate program as more a means to an end than anything else, and he knows Snoke views him as little more than a tool to further his own enigmatic plans, so the particulars of the arrangement never concerned him. As long as Snoke stays out of his way, he'll follow the rules. But the constant traveling and analyzing and justifying have leeched lead into his bones, and, coupled with recent personal development, he feels frayed, thin, stretched. Every moment spent thinking about it, about everything, pulls him closer to the ground.

"We should definitely visit that knife shop before we leave," Phasma says, shaking Hux out of his head. 

He swivels in his chair to look at her. "What?"

She 's frowning thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about getting a new set of knives, and, honestly, what better place?"

"What do _you_ need knives for?"

She looks affronted. "I cook!"

"You microwave." Hux props his elbow on the arm of the chair and rests his cheek on his hand, unimpressed. " _I_ cook." And it's true, Hux does most of the cooking on the road, mainly because he's the only one who's never set off a hotel smoke alarm.

"Well, then maybe you should get a new set of knives."

"I don't need new knives. And if I did, I wouldn't get them there. They probably overcharge."

"This whole town overcharges." Phasma brightens suddenly. "We should stop by Anna's Bakery."

Hux sighs. "Anna's Bakery?"

"You know, the bakery Anna Ainsley worked at before she got axed. Back then it was called something else but obviously they renamed it when the tourists starting coming in. I hear they sell themed pastries and you can take a picture with the actual till that Anna worked at!" Phasma's eyes sparkle. "We need to do as much dumb tourist bullshit as possible while we're here."

"Phasma, have I ever been remotely interested in dumb tourist bullshit?"

"You're a man of many surprises, Hux," Phasma shrugs.

"Fewer than you think," Hux says right as the RV door swings open and Kylo folds inside, the floor rocking slightly with his weight.

"Fewer what?" Kylo asks, swiping at his bare chest with a towel before draping it around his neck.

Hux opens his mouth to respond but finds his words stuck in his throat as his eyes track Kylo across the cabin to the kitchenette. 

"Surprises," Phasma answers, completely unaffected by the sight of Kylo's toned, naked torso. "Hux is claiming to be boring."

"Hm." Kylo snags a bottle of water from the fridge and lets the door close softly as he straightens up, twisting the cap off. "And is he?"

"Boring?"

"Yeah."

Phasma makes a thoughtful noise but Hux barely hears it, focus fixed on Kylo's broad chest. God, he feels fourteen years old, seeing a half-naked man on a perfume ad for the first time, but he can't pull his eyes away. Kylo's ratty black tees do an enormously impressive job of hiding Kylo's physicality, and, when coupled with his usual slouching posture, it's easy to forget how massive Kylo really is. But now there's nothing to hide behind and Hux is faced with the unavoidable realization that Kylo is fit. And that it's affecting him.

He's so busy drowning in this horrific discovery that he misses the first few times Phasma calls his name.

"Hux?" she repeats and Hux forces himself to look at her, tearing his eyes away from Kylo's glistening skin.

"What?" he says quickly, schooling his expression and voice back to something resembling normal.

"I asked if you thought you were boring." Phasma is smirking, casting knowing glances between Hux and Kylo, who is too engrossed in gulping water to have noticed anything.

Hux feels the tips of his ears start to burn. "I'm doubtlessly the most boring person you'll ever meet," he replies stiffly.

Kylo barks out a short laugh and Hux turns to see him smiling toothily. "Come on. That's not true." 

Hux raises his eyebrows. "Really?"

Kylo tosses the empty bottle in the recycling bin and leans a hip against the counter. "Yeah. I mean, you're pretentious and annoying, but you're definitely not boring."

"Thanks," Hux says snidely, narrowing his eyes at Kylo, any benevolence he may have felt at the arresting sight of Kylo's absurd chest completely evaporating.

Phasma and Kylo both laugh obnoxiously.

"I think being pretentious is better than being boring," Phasma offers, lounging back against the couch.

"Good to know," Hux responds icily, flashing another glare at Kylo when he chuckles. "Are you done with the car?"

"Oh, yeah, it was no problem." Kylo waves a hand casually. "Shouldn't give you any more trouble."

"Could you show me?"

Kylo smirks. "Don't trust me?"

Hux smirks back. "Should I?"

"Yes."

Hux breaks eye contact with Kylo to glance back at the files waiting to be reviewed on his computer, files full of nothing but dim, useless footage. He sighs. "Show me anyway."

Kylo leads him out of the RV, past Phasma, who shoots Hux a meaningful look that he doesn't grace with a response other than the completely involuntary deepening of his blush.

***

Hux's headache is like a vice squeezing his brains out through his ears. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" he says into the phone, jaw tight.

Mr. Keller sounds very apologetic but his words are still anathema to everything Hux holds sacred. "This bridal shower has been on the schedule for over a month. I'm sorry, but it's simply too late to move the booking."

Hux takes a deep breath. "And you didn't think it prudent to mention this to me yesterday? Or this morning? Or at all?"

Keller babbles some apologies but Hux is beyond listening. Faced with another tedious night of laughable ghost hunting, one can only imagine Hux's surprise when Keller called to inform him that the Ainsley House would be occupied tonight. By a bridal shower. Apparently, Keller has known about this for weeks but neglected to say anything about it to Phasma when they were arranging to come in the first place, or when they met at the house yesterday. The incompetence is simply stunning.

"Fine," Hux cuts through Keller's supplicating nonsense. "Disregarding your--" Hux bites his tongue before he can say something mean and unprofessional, breathes in through his nose, tries again. "That's quite all right. Can I at least move my equipment so it's out of the way of the party?"

"Of course!" Keller gushes. "Miss Goodwell only rented out the bottom floor. If you'd like, you can simply move everything to the upper floors."

"I'll do that." Hux glances at his watch. He has roughly thirty minutes. "Thank you." He hangs up before he has to listen to Keller's surely grateful response. "Phasma!" he calls into the RV.

The bathroom door swings open and Phasma pokes her head out, makeup half-done and hair half-dry, comb in hand. "What?"

"You're never going to believe this tripe," Hux grouses.

"Try me."

"Keller says there's a bridal shower scheduled tonight _in the house_. Says she rented out the whole first floor."

"I know," Phasma says, running the comb through her short hair.

Hux cocks his head. "You know?"

She grins. "Where do you think I'm going?"

Hux stares at her blankly.

"Desta invited me. The bride is her cousin."

Hux blinks, stunned.

"Just take it easy tonight, Hux. You need the rest."

"How could you do this to me, Phasma?" Hux whispers.

"Don't be so dramatic," she says dismissively.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"You deserve a break, Hux."

"I had a break!" The futility of the situation is making Hux's skin crawl. "I had far too long a break. This whole assignment has been nothing but a joke." Hux shakes his head incredulously. "I'm sick of people telling me to get some rest or take a break. We're here to do a job and I want to fucking do it!"

"You can't expect the world to follow your impossible schedule, Hux," Phasma says sharply, hands on her hips.

"No, but I expect my teammate to tell me if she knows something is going to fuck with my routine, a routine that has been the same _every single time_ ," Hux snaps. "You knew about this and you kept quiet because, because what, Phasma?" he demands. "Because it's funny watching me freak out about stupid shit like this?"

"No, Hux, that's not--"

"I'm sorry I'm not as laid back as you are about everything," Hux presses on, face hot, "I'm sorry I'm not enjoying this goddamn tourist trap as much as you are. Sorry I can't get over how _humiliating_ this whole thing is long enough to buy paperweights or novelty knives."

"Well, excuse me for thinking you should lighten up sometimes," Phasma retorts, posture stiffening with each word.

"I'm not here to _lighten up_ , I'm here to work, and you're keeping me from _doing that_."

"It's not my fault there was a scheduling conflict!"

"But you didn't tell me!" Hux yells. "I just can't imagine why you wouldn't say something unless you take some sort of perverse joy in watching me fret myself sick!"

"That's not--I just thought--" Phasma huffs out a frustrated breath. "Hux, maybe I didn't--"

"Whatever," Hux cuts her off. He's heard enough. "Just go to your bridal shower with your waitress friend. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun without me there to bring you down."

"Hux--"

But Hux is already exiting the RV, stomping down the steps and marching across the clearing to the house. On the way, he nearly runs into Kylo, whom he brushes past perhaps a bit more aggressively than necessary.

"What's up?" Kylo asks, easily keeping pace with Hux. "I thought I heard yelling."

"It doesn't matter," Hux responds, shoulders tense and stride stiff. "I need to move all of the equipment on the first floor to the second floor and you're going to help me."

Kylo, who would normally take the blunt command as an opportunity to be obstinate, seems to sense that Hux is in no mood and follows dutifully behind him.

***

For the third time in the last minute, Hux sets his laptop aside with a sigh, slouching against the back of the couch.

The RV is dim, lit by a lamp on the desk, Hux's laptop screen, and the light above Kylo's bunk, which Hux can see filtering out of the sleeping cabin, accompanied by the soft sounds of Kylo shifting around on the bed. Hux doesn't know what he's doing. Reading probably. Hux doesn't much care, too distracted by his own restlessness, quickly edging into irritation. He bounces his leg, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Phasma had been gone when he and Kylo returned to the RV after moving all the equipment. Hux didn't take much time on the process, merely checking that everything was off before leaving the cameras and audio recorders in an upstairs bedroom and firmly shutting the door. Hopefully the party-goers will keep to the first floor like Keller assured him they would. A rather large part of Hux hopes that the bridal shower is terribly boring and Phasma has a horrible time. They haven't fought like that in a long time and the memory makes something sick coil in his gut. He and Phasma have been through too much to argue about petty shit but he can't shake the lingering hurt. Perhaps he overreacted, but she knows, she _knows_ how important this routine is to him. Even when everything else is falling apart, he needs to know there's a system to return to. If you take that away, if you take his carefully organized schedule away, Hux isn't sure how much of him will remain.

He'd looked around for Phasma's glucose meter but hadn't found it, so at least she remembered to take it with her. Hux tries not to care.

"You are driving me insane."

Hux jumps slightly, straightening up to see Kylo in the doorway between the sleeping cabin and the living cabin, looming through the shadows cast by the scant light. "Sorry?"

"You're so--" Kylo hunches his shoulders, scrunching up his face, "--tense. I can feel it from over here. You're all wound up."

"Well, what do you suggest I do, Doctor?" Hux retorts, irritation flaring back up in his chest. "See a chiropractor? For all of my _tension_?"

"Probably wouldn't hurt." Kylo pushes away from the doorway, crossing to Hux and falling onto the couch beside him. His weight nearly displaces Hux on the cushion and Hux has to put a hand out to steady himself. "If I had a bow, I could play you like a violin."

Hux doesn't say anything, folding his hands in his lap and looking away from Kylo.

"I don't know what happened between you and Phasma and, honestly, it's not my business--" Kylo begins, and Hux is strangely grateful that he's not trying to play therapist again, "--but you're all fidgety and it's annoying."

"I'm not used to doing nothing," Hux mutters. "I don't like it."

"Yeah, I picked that up."

"Fuck you."

"I'm just trying to help," Kylo says defensively. "You need to do something. Get out of the house, so to speak."

Hux glances at Kylo skeptically. "What do you suggest? We can't work, and I'm not exactly a social person, so if you're thinking about a bar or something--"

Kylo barks out a laugh. "No, no, not a bar, I know better than that."

Hux narrows his eyes at Kylo. "I'll have you know, I've done my share of barhopping," he sniffs.

"Sure." Kylo smiles, eyes twinkling in the low light. "But no, I was thinking something a little more...private. Well, not private, I guess. Quieter? Maybe? It's kind of...scientific, in a way--"

"Kylo, what are you getting at?"

Kylo shifts in his seat, suddenly looking uncertain. "Well, there's a...a little up the mountain, there's an--" Kylo's voice drops, "--observation point."

Hux tilts his head. "Like...for stars?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know about this?"

"I saw it on a map in that guidebook Phasma bought."

Hux is struck by how eager Kylo looks, leaning forward in his seat, eyes bright. He's not bouncing up and down but he may as well be. "I didn't think you'd be interested in that kind of thing."

Now that Hux is looking for it, he sees Kylo's face shutter slightly. "Yeah, it's just...it's dumb, you're right--"

"I didn't say it was dumb," Hux cuts him off. "You need to stop putting words in my mouth."

Hope instantly returns to Kylo's face. "Sorry, I just--we don't have to go if...I just thought..."

Hux sighs, pretending to mull it over. "Fine. It's not like I have anything else to do. And you're right--" he stretches his arms over his head, gratified by the pops he feels up and down his spine, "--I'm tense."

Kylo hops to his feet before seeming to remember himself, and says with restraint, "I'll get the car."

The drive to the observation point is short and comfortably quiet. Kylo maneuvers the dark mountain roads with ease and Hux, who is a nervous driver in ideal conditions, finds himself equally impressed and envious.

The observation point is essentially just a clearing near the top of the mountain and the car interior brightens considerably as they break the tree-line and park near the edge. A brief scan tells Hux that the clearing is completely deserted except for them and a faded wooden sign announcing the clearing as the Ainsley Observation Point.

Kylo rockets out of the car, slamming the door behind him in his rush to get outside. Hux follows more sedately, bemused at Kylo's enthusiasm. 

As he swings out of the car and looks up at the night sky stretching above them, he can't contain a gasp. A veritable ocean of stars glitters against the inky blackness, un-polluted by urban illumination and sprawling endlessly into the distance. Hux's breath seems to leave him as he stares up, transfixed. It's more stars than he's ever seen in one place, even after years of traveling and visiting small towns just like Crescent Brook. He'd never had a reason to look until now.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Kylo's voice jars him from his trance. He's perched on the hood of the car, smiling openly. "You should see it in, like, the plains in Montana. God, there's no sky, it's just light."

"You've been to Montana?" Hux asks, settling himself beside Kylo on the hood and turning his face back to the sky.

"Yeah, I used to travel a lot with my grandfather, and then my uncle." Kylo's voice is reserved but this is the most Hux has ever heard about his family so he can't resist the urge to prod.

"Did they travel for work, or...?"

"Kind of." Kylo shifts his weight and Hux looks over to see him drawing his knees into his chest, resting his chin atop his folded arms. "They...well, they were...like me."

"They were mediums?" Hux asks, surprised. 

Kylo nods. "My grandfather was...kind of famous, I guess."

"Would I have heard of him?"

"Probably."

Hux waits for more but Kylo doesn't continue, keeping his gaze fixed on the sky. The glow of the stars is bright enough that Hux has no problem making out the details of Kylo's face even in the middle of the night with no other lights on, and those details look vaguely troubled.

"Well," Hux says, turning to look at the sky as well, "I spent most of my childhood in Britain, so I may not be caught up on the hottest American psychics from that time."

"Trust me, you'd know him."

"Prove it."

Kylo scoffs. "Anakin Skywalker."

His voice sounds ever-so-slightly strained, which Hux nearly misses as he whips his head to the side to stare incredulously. "Are you serious?"

Kylo's shoulders hunch in an awkward shrug. "Yup."

"You're a Skywalker?"

Kylo doesn't answer, but he doesn't need to. The tense line of his body says everything.

"I had no idea," Hux says and then immediately feels stupid because _obviously_.

Kylo hums softly. "Pretty shocking, huh? You've been sharing a trailer with a celebrity this whole time."

"Well, so have you."

After a beat, Kylo glances at him, unwinding slightly. "I guess that's sort of true."

"Sort of?" Hux snorts derisively. "Everyone and their dog knows about the Castle Cary tapes. How many people do you think have any idea who Anakin Skywalker is? A couple hundred?"

"He was a media star!" Kylo protests, some of his typical whininess returning to his voice.

Hux just smirks in that way he knows makes him look like an ass, and once again the incandescent sky allows him to see Kylo's expression change, this time a smile creeping across his face as he realizes Hux is joking. It's almost harder to look at than the near-blinding night sky, so Hux turns his face back up.

They pass a few minutes in silence, just looking up at the stars. Hux is grateful for the quiet. It allows time for the fluttering in his stomach to settle down somewhat. But soon that horrible human compulsion to fill space with sound rears its head. Hux can ignore other people for hours, but something about Kylo makes him restless. Loud.

"I don't know much about stars," he admits at last.

"You?" Kylo snorts without missing a beat. "Not knowing something? Let me check to see if the world has ended."

Hux scowls. "Very cute." He shifts slightly, keeping his gaze fixed up. "I know astronomy and physics, but something tells me that's not what fascinates you about the stars."

"You know me so well."

"Better than you think."

"You're right, though." Kylo's voice drops into something soft and almost wistful. "I was never in one place very much as a kid. I switched schools a lot and had trouble keeping friends, if you can believe that. But wherever I was in the world, I could always see the stars. Sometimes the constellations were different, but they were always up there." Kylo laughs roughly and Hux finds his gaze drawn back to him, unable to resist his gravitational pull. "It's kind of dumb, but it always made me feel better. I read everything I could about the sky. Science. Myths. I liked the myths better."

"I'm not very familiar with mythology. Beyond the basics."

"I loved that shit as a kid. I ate up everything about astrology--even learned to read tarot."

"Really?"

Kylo slides him a glittering look. "Yeah. I'll read your fortune sometime."

"Please," Hux says, rolling his eyes, "don't."

Kylo smiles back up at the sky. "You see up there--" he points and Hux squints at a seemingly random smattering of stars above them. "That's my favorite constellation. Ursa Minor."

"I don't see it."

"See the Little Dipper?"

"Yes."

Kylo leans over so that Hux is gazing straight up his extended arm and traces a pattern with this finger, connecting several stars around the familiar shape of the Little Dipper. "That's it."

Kylo's new proximity allows Hux to feel the heat radiating off of him. He can even smell Kylo's shampoo. "Ah."

Kylo drops his arm but doesn't back off, still focused on the stars. "Other constellations move around or disappear during the year, but Ursa Minor is always visible in the northern hemisphere. So wherever I was, I could usually count on at least one thing being the same."

Hux turns Kylo's words over in his head. Though he'd only moved once as a child, he can't pretend he doesn't understand the desire for stability. Comfort. But his head is reeling from the discovery of this new dimension to Kylo, so freely given. This relaxed, patient Kylo isn't a man he sees often, or ever, actually, and it's a bit dizzying. Like this, Kylo seems open and almost...charming.

Once again compelled by the strange gravity well surrounding Kylo, Hux turns his head and finds himself staring into Kylo's soft, dark eyes, made monochrome by the stark starlight. Their faces are so close their noses nearly brush as Hux draws in a startled breath, unable to look away. There's something shining in Kylo's gaze, something deeper than the reflections of the lights above, something that keeps Hux frozen as Kylo's breath fans over his lips. Against his will, his mind skips several seconds ahead, envisioning the outcome of this instant, this choice he wants to make, and he sees them entwined, clutching desperately at one another, drunk on the romance and vulnerability of the moment, rough hands gentle on his skin as they fall backwards together, a sense of wholeness, of rightness, and all he has to do is breach that last breath of space between them--

A shrill tone slices through the silence, and the moment pops like a bubble around them. Hux clears his throat, cheeks burning, as Kylo fumbles his phone out of his pocket and retreats to his side of the car hood.

"Yes, sir," he says as soon as he answers, voice slightly gruff.

It must be Snoke on the other end because Kylo is never that polite with anyone else. Hux pulls his knees close to his chest and tries to ignore the scorching shame in his chest as Kylo murmurs into the phone. He can't believe he almost kissed Kylo Ren. His coworker and teammate. The most immature and frustrating person he's ever met. He can't believe he almost fucked up that badly, and, even worse, he can't believe how much he _wanted_ it. His heart stutters and he bites his lip. He can't believe how much he _still_ wants it.

Kylo angles himself away from Hux, whispering harshly into the phone and Hux perks up in concern. He can't make out what Kylo's saying, but he's obviously upset. Hux wonders if Kylo feels as unbalanced by what just happened as he does.

After a minute of tense silence, Kylo says "I understand, sir," in a clipped voice and ends the call.

Hux levels him with a curious look as Kylo slips his phone back into his pocket and clenches his fists.

"Is everything okay?" Hux asks.

"Fine," Kylo snaps and Hux instantly bristles.

"There's no need for--"

"Let's go back," Kylo interrupts, pushing off the hood and stalking around the car to the driver's side door.

Hux watches him with his mouth open, struggling to adjust to the abrupt change in mood. "Alright," he responds flatly, not that Kylo is listening, too busy wrenching the car door open.

The ride back is silent, but not the comfortable silence they enjoyed on the way up. The air inside the car is heavy with tension and a lingering awkwardness that makes Hux want to squirm. He doesn't, however, instead sitting perfectly still and staring fixedly out the window, watching as the sky is steadily obscured by the canopy of trees.

Kylo goes straight to bed when they arrive back at the RV, spending a brief moment in the bathroom before curling up in bed and flipping his light off without a single word to Hux. Hux, for his part, tries to go to bed too, settling under his blankets after locking down the RV and changing into sleep clothes, but rest is elusive.

His body is still humming with energy from earlier and his mind is spinning in circles. Not only had he nearly kissed the last person in the universe he should be kissing, but Phasma still isn't back, and now he has Snoke's mysterious phone call to worry about. He knows Snoke and Kylo are working from a different script than he is, but they usually keep their activities separate from First Order's cases. Crossover might be...inefficient.

It takes a long time for Hux to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No clue when you can expect chapter 3 but hopefully it won't take as long as this one lmao.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ainsley House is haunted by nothing but the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another new chapter? In the same week?? This is unprecedented.

Surprisingly enough, things have not magically fixed themselves by the next morning.

Hux is awoken by the sound of Kylo's motorcycle revving up and speeding away, leaving him blinking tiredly in the empty, dawn-lit RV. 

Phasma's bunk is predictably vacant and Hux tries not to let it sting him. He's still irritated with her, but he regrets their fight even more now that he's slept on it. She should have been honest with him because she _knows_ what he's like, but Hux also knows what _she's_ like. She's brash and blasé; her easy confidence and fond teasing have kept his head above water for years and it's just her nature to think she knows best. They're a lot alike in that way. And they both get carried away sometimes, her less frequently than him, but it still happens.

The point is that her absence makes him feel wrong.

Hux busies himself with paperwork all morning while the Ainsley House is in business. At first, Hux considered repacking all the equipment after each night, but Keller assured him the tour guides were accustomed to keeping guests away from ghost hunting equipment, so he shouldn't worry. Hux is still worried, but he also can't bring himself to care enough about this case to do anything about it. He can barely even focus through his anxiety over Phasma and the lingering shame of what happened last night. This whole venture is lulling him into a state of stressed apathy and the knowledge sits like a pox under his skin.

Phasma stumbles in around noon, makeup blurred and hair in disarray and Hux instantly swivels in his chair. She hesitates a bit when she sees him but doesn't stop, not meeting his eyes as she stalks across the cabin and grabs some things out of her cupboard.

Hux watches her, trying to coerce his mouth into articulating the thoughts buzzing in his head. _I'm sorry. I regret yelling at you. Where were you last night? Have you eaten? Did you take your insulin?_ But nothing comes out until Phasma spins back around and hurries to the door. The sight of her retreating back forces Hux's voice awake.

"Phasma--" he starts, but then she's slamming the door behind her and Hux is alone again.

He quashes the violent urge to throw something, channeling the sudden energy into digging his nails into his palms and staring at his white knuckles, jaw tight.

The day passes slowly. The longer Kylo is gone, the more Hux has to shake himself out of memories of South Carolina, and the longer Phasma is gone, the more Hux hates himself. So by the time the House closes shop, Hux is shaking with frustration and has to stop working because his trembling fingers are making too many typos.

As soon as the last tour guide has passed the keys off to Hux and left, Hux gets to work moving all the equipment back to their proper places. It's a bit tedious by himself, but he doesn't mind the work. It's easy and familiar, two things that have been in short supply the past few days.

He's adjusting the last tripod in the living room when he hears a car pull up outside, pause for a moment, and then drive off again, and he stands, dusting off the knees of his jeans. He doesn't even make it to the front door before he's met by Phasma in the entryway. She apparently straightened her ruffled appearance and changed into working clothes at some point because she looks much more put-together than she did this afternoon.

Hus stops short, eying her warily, but she doesn't look mad. In fact, she's biting her lip and casting him brief, contrite glances, fingers drumming nervously against the coffee cup held in her hands. Hux so rarely see her _nervous_ ; it's a bit of a shock.

"Hux, I--" she starts, shoulders hunching in slightly. "Last night, I--we--"

"It's alright," Hux cuts in because, really, he's just glad she came back.

"No, it's not," she huffs. "I was being a bitch and you're right, I should have told you about the party. I just thought...." she trails off, shaking her head. "I don't know what I thought."

"I'm sorry too," Hux sighs. "I was angry and hurt, but I still said some very rude things."

"I deserved it. I kind of was trying to tease you, but I didn't think about what I was really doing and I upset you. It was my bad." She fixes him with a solemn look. "You know I don't actually want to stress you out, right?"

"I know that, Phasma." Hux allows the smallest of smiles to curl the corners of his lips. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"No problem, Boss." She's smiling now too as she holds out the coffee cup. "I know it's kind of a shitty apology, but I didn't wanna show up empty-handed. It's your dumb hipster Starbucks drink."

Ignoring the jab at his drinking habits, Hux gladly accepts the grande, upside-down, non-fat, extra hot caramel macchiato. He's perfectly fine with drinking black coffee when he needs the caffeine, but he doesn't particularly like the taste, so, on very rare occasions, he'll indulge his sweet tooth with his overly-complicated Starbucks order, which only Phasma knows about.

He wraps his hands around the warm cup and is relieved to find that it doesn't shake. "Thanks. I hope you remembered to take your insulin without me there to nag you."

Phasma waves dismissively. "Yeah, I remembered, _Mom_. I'm a big girl."

Hux rolls his eyes.

The moment is interrupted by the growl of a motorcycle engine pulling into the lot. Phasma casts a curious look over her shoulder as Hux goes rigid.

"Has he been out all day?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"Did you two...." Phasma trails off with a questioning glint in her eye.

"Fight? No. At least--" Hux presses his lips together. "Not really. It actually seemed like we were getting on really well last night, but.... You know what he's like."

"A diva."

"That's one word for it."

Kylo's heavy steps thump across the porch and then the door swings open, revealing Kylo's hulking, black-clad form. He stares at Hux and Phasma, looking vaguely like a child who's been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Then he swallows visibly.

"Hey," he says awkwardly, tucking a windswept strand of hair behind his ear. "Sorry, I...lost track of time."

Hux opens his mouth to make a pointed comment about how Kylo's poor time-management skills left him to fix all the equipment by himself, but the image of Kylo's hollow expression after talking to Snoke last night flashes through his mind and he slowly closes it again. Instead, he clears his throat and says, with as much authority as he can muster, which is, even on a bad day, a hell of a lot: "It doesn't matter now. The sun is almost down and we still have work to do, so we don't have time to chat."

Phasma and Kylo hurry off to their respective tasks. As Kylo brushes past Hux to get into the living room, Hux just barely catches a whispered "Thanks."

If Hux smiles into the lid of his cup as he takes a sip, that's just a coincidence.

\---

"Phasma, I'm going to burn this fucking house down."

From her spot stretched out on the couch, Phasma barks out a laugh. "I'm with you, Boss."

"I'm serious," Hux grumbles, marking yet another audio file as junk. "Maybe if I manage to catch a few soccer moms inside, this place will actually become worth our time."

"Dark. I like it."

Hux narrows his eyes at the collection of files he still has to sort through, all undoubtedly useless. The lockup went well enough--the team's energy was vastly improved from what it had been during the day--but that doesn't change the fact that all of their effort continues to turn up nothing. Now, Hux is going through the data like always, Phasma is sorting video files on her laptop, and Kylo's on a grocery run. As they packed up that morning, Hux asked Kylo again if he felt anything and Kylo gave a distracted headshake before cracking terrible joke about Crescent Brook being a literal ghost town.

At that time, Hux didn't think it was funny, and he still doesn't, but he can't deny the truth in it.

Bored, Hux opens the next audio file and checks his notes. He groans when he sees which recorder he's listening to. Apparently, the microphone in the second floor master suite had been jostled when they were moving the equipment around and Hux didn't notice when he was putting everything back (a hazard you run into when you have to do everything by yourself), so it was pointed toward the balcony doors all night. Hux discovered it when he was collecting the data cards that morning and had to grit his teeth to keep from screeching in frustration. It's not like he was expecting anything useable from the audio, but this mistake just makes the file even more pointless than it already was.

His finger is poised over the delete key when a loud, unmistakable sound nearly startles him out of his chair. Instantly, he turns the volume up and presses his headphones tight over his ears, listening in shock to the sound of a door creaking open and footsteps crossing the sturdy wood panels of the second-floor balcony.

He opens his mouth to yell at Phasma that she's not going to believe this--

_"Doctor, I--I need to talk to you."_

Hux snaps his mouth shut, brows drawing together in confusion at the voice coming through the headphones. It sounds like Kylo, his deep, smooth voice distinctive even through the grain of a microphone behind a sheet of glass.

_"Yes, I understand, but--but I just really...."_

Kylo was obviously on the phone, with Snoke, it sounds like, and probably wandered out onto the balcony for some privacy, not noticing the displaced mic. Hux isn't supposed to be hearing this. It's basically eavesdropping. Retroactive eavesdropping. He should turn it off.

He reaches for the space bar to pause the audio but freezes when his ears pick up his own name.

_"No, it's not...it's about Hux. And Phasma. Doctor, I just--I really don't know what's happening."_

Against his better judgment, Hux pulls his hand back, listening attentively now. Kylo's voice is strained and fading up and down in volume, accompanied by footsteps. He must have been pacing. Hux checks the time on the file. Just past eleven. If Hux remembers correctly, he was in the root cellar and Phasma was manning the base at that time, so neither of them would have been able to hear Kylo.

_"No, sir, but I did have a...a dream."_

Kylo pauses and Hux's breath catches in his chest. Is Kylo actually reacting to the site? If he is, why would he say otherwise?

_"Not like those dreams. This one was different. It felt...different. Less like a dream and more like...a memory."_ Silence as Kylo presumably listens to Dr. Snoke's response. _"Last night."_

Hux recalls Kylo's hasty departure the previous morning. He'd assumed it was lingering awkwardness from the night before that drove him away, but this might make more sense. Kylo rarely cares about maintaining a positive working environment, but if he'd been spooked by a vivid dream, he might want to be alone.

_"A few headaches, but nothing bad, and I haven't been able to feel anything in the house, but this dream, it was--"_ Kylo's voice breaks and Hux clenches his fists. _"It really freaked me out. It was so real."_

Hux glances back at Phasma to find her still invested in scanning through video recordings before turning back to his laptop.

_"I...I...it was--"_ Kylo stammers, sounding very unsure. _"In it, I was...doing things. Really terrible things. There were these voices, screaming at me. They kept telling me to...to kill people. And I--"_ He takes a deep breath, so loud the mic picked it up as a scratch of static. _"I tied Phasma to a chair and...and sh-shot her."_ Kylo's voice drops so low that Hux has to crank up the volume, one hand pressed to his mouth. _"And--and then I...Hux--I...I strangled him to death."_

Hux's eyes widen. Even in his surprise, he instantly makes the connection between Kylo's words and the history of the Ainsley House and the similarity sends chills down his spine.

_"No!"_ Kylo says loudly, making Hux wince and turn the volume back to normal. _"Of course not. I've never--this is--I--I don't know what to do, Doctor. It felt so real. I can...I can still feel it. In my hands."_

Hux's heart stutters.

_"Oh...okay. I understand. I will."_ Kylo's voice breaks again. His next words sound thick and rough and Hux realizes with jolt that Kylo is crying. _"Th--thank you, sir."_

The door to the _Finalizer_ swings open with a loud thump and Hux slams the space bar in panic, whipping around to see Kylo struggling through the doorway, balancing two arm-loads of grocery bags. Kylo looks up and meets his eyes and Hux feels like he's been blasted with cold water.

"I wouldn't mind some help," Kylo says, smiling playfully, looking for all the world like everything is completely normal.

Phasma jumps up to help him but Hux finds he can't move. Slowly, inexorably, he turns back to his laptop, staring blankly at the glowing screen. Absurdly, it's like he can feel the shadow of the Ainsley House looming over him, wrapping long fingers around his neck until the world narrows to the screen in front of him and the file sitting open on the display.

\---

"I think we should leave." Hux spits the words out like poison, as fast as possible before they start to fester in his mouth.

Phasma's phone slips from her fingers and lands in her lap and her jaw drops open. Something clatters to the floor in the bathroom and Kylo sticks his head out to stare at Hux. "What?" he asks incredulously.

Hux glares at them both, sitting primly on the couch next to Phasma. "You two are hilarious."

"Sorry, Hux," Phasma says, not sounding sorry. "But that's literally the last thing I usually expect you to say. You were the one who wanted to stay and investigate Marigold even after you'd been attacked by a bed."

"That site was hot," Hux dismisses. "This place is figuratively dead."

"And literally," Kylo mutters.

Hux cuts him a sharp look. "And I don't see the merit in continuing this charade any longer." Of course, he doesn't mention his concern for Kylo or what he heard in the audio file (which has been safely saved to a private, password-protected folder on Hux's laptop and deleted everywhere else). Normally at an inactive site, he'll insist they stay the maximum four days. If the site is particularly busy, they'll stay more or less time depending on the data they're getting. So this is, admittedly, a bit out of character for him, but his reasoning is sound and he's the leader so he knows best anyway.

"I get that," Phasma says thoughtfully, crossing her legs, "but we really haven't turned up anything yet and Dr. Snoke was super insistent about this site."

"We have plenty of data from the past two nights, more than enough to support the conclusion that the House isn't haunted," Hux counters. "Not to mention, we have other cases already lined up, don't we? It's pointless to keep wasting time here when we could be moving onto something with more potential."

Phasma purses her lips, humming.

"I think we should stay."

Hux turns to Kylo, who's still half in the doorway to the bathroom. He looks nervous.

"Snoke sent us here for a reason."

"Yes, to teach us a lesson about destroying buildings," Hux responds, a bit more snappily than he means to. "I believe we've learned that lesson fairly well, don't you?"

"I certainly have," Phasma mutters under her breath.

"Dr. Snoke wouldn't waste our time with a wild goose chase," Kylo scolds.

"Your opinion of him is much higher than mine, apparently," Hux sneers.

Kylo scowls at him. "He sent us here for a reason and it's our job to figure out what it is."

"Maybe that's your job, but my job is finding ghosts and I simply can't do that here." Hux can't believe Kylo is fighting him on this. After what he heard on the recording, Hux thought Kylo would be desperate for a reason to leave. Whatever Snoke said to him must have been really comforting.

"Fine," Kylo snaps. "Let's vote. I think we should stay and finish the job Dr. Snoke entrusted us with."

"Yeah I think we should stay too, Hux."

Hux swivels his head to stare at Phasma, affronted. She shrugs.

"Sorry, but Kylo has a point. Snoke wanted us here and I don't really wanna get on his shit list. Besides, a few more days of boredom won't hurt us."

"Oh my god." Hux drops his head into his hands and presses his fingers against his eyes. "Fine," he says, lifting his head and spreading his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You win. Democracy prevails. I hope you're both happy."

Kylo tilts his head from side to side, eyebrows raised. "Pretty happy, I think."

Phasma chuckles. "I'm just surprised you didn't override our votes with your leaderly powers."

"Please," Hux scoffs. "I am a benevolent and magnanimous ruler." He drops his voice to a murmur. "And you're both a lot bigger than I am."

Phasma laughs loudly and ruffles his hair as Kylo snorts and turns back into the bathroom. Hux watches him disappear while fending off Phasma's attempt at a headlock.

He's probably overreacting anyway.

\---

Regardless, Hux keeps an eye on Kylo once the lockup starts and it soon becomes apparent that he was not overreacting.

From the moment they enter the house, Kylo is twitchy and distracted. When Hux is replacing the batteries in their flashlights, he has to repeat his request for Kylo to hand his over several times in a progressively louder voice before Kylo looks away from the living room and finally follows instructions. Around ten o'clock, Hux is heading back to base and comes across Kylo perched rigidly on the sofa, just like he'd done the other night as well. Hux asks him if he's okay and Kylo just gives a jerky nod before standing and walking past Hux into the hallway. During his time manning the base, Hux hears Phasma ask Kylo is he's okay several time over the radio and Kylo provides short, clipped responses every time.

Kylo grows increasingly agitated as the night wears on. Hux is in the root cellar holding an EVP session when his audio is interrupted by hard, rhythmic tapping from above. Perplexed, Hux points his flashlight at the ceiling and the beam catches on clouds of dust falling from the wood above from the force of the thumping. He ascends the stairs to find Kylo pacing the kitchen vigorously, raking his hands roughly through his hair and staring around with wide eyes.

Hux herds him into a kitchen chair and kneels in front of him, trying to get him to maintain eye contact.

"Kylo--" Hux snaps his fingers a few times to get his attention, but Kylo's gaze is still wandering nervously. "Kylo, can you hear me?"

Kylo doesn't respond so Hux pinches his arm.

"Ow!" Kylo covers the spot with his hand, eyes snapping to Hux in betrayal. "What was that for?"

"You're acting strangely," Hux says briskly. "Are you sensing something?"

Kylo stares down at him for a second, and in the dim light of the kitchen, his eyes look like shallow pools of black. "No. I don't feel anything."

Hux presses his lips into a tight line. Kylo is lying to him, he knows it. For a beat, he's tempted to reveal that he knows about Kylo's dream, that Kylo doesn't have to pretend everything is okay, but then Kylo stands and steps around him.

"I'm going to relieve Phasma," he says, not looking back, leaving Hux kneeling on the floor in front of an empty chair.

\---

"Kylo's acting super weird," Phasma says, dropping into a chair beside Hux at the base. She sets her handheld camera on the table.

"I know," Hux replies absently, updating the hour log.

"I just saw him locking and unlocking the back door."

"He was pacing the kitchen earlier."

"But he still says there's nothing here?"

Hux sighs and puts the clipboard down, rubbing his eyes as he leans back in his chair. "Yes."

"What do you think is going on?"

Hux levels her with an even stare. "I think he's lying."

A loud slam right above them makes Hux jump up from his seat. Beside him, Phasma's eyes widen and she rises slowly. "I saw him heading upstairs before I came in here," she says lowly.

Hux hurries out of the room and up the stairs, Phasma right behind him. On the second floor, they pause, listening intently, but nothing is moving. Then, Hux hears creaking right over his head.

"The attic," he says, already rushing down the hall to the rickety wood stairs at the end. He takes them two at a time and grabs the knob, stopping short when it doesn't move. He bangs a hand against the door. "Kylo? Kylo are you in there?"

He's met by quiet rustling and the squeaking footsteps of someone pacing across old wood floors. He tries the knob again but it's locked from the other side. 

Phasma reaches around him and pounds her fist on the door. "Kylo, if you don't open this door I'm going to break it down!"

"Well, you don't have to do that," Hux says, slipping a hand into his pocket. "I have a master key."

"Oh." Phasma almost sounds disappointed.

Hux unlocks the door and pushes it open carefully, unsure what he'll find on the other side. "Kylo?"

The attic is bathed in bluish light from the large circular window set in the far wall and almost completely bare save for the ghoulish white outline surrounding the place Carter Ainsley was found dead. A black shape is hunched over on the floor next to the outline, rocking slightly.

Hux casts a look over his shoulder at Phasma, whose brows are pinched in concern, before stepping hesitantly into the room. "Kylo?" he says quietly, drawing closer slowly. "Are...are you okay?"

Kylo's only response is to curl tighter into himself.

Hux reaches his side and sinks to his knees, keeping an eye on Kylo's reaction. There isn't one. "Can you talk to me?"

Phasma creeps up behind him, but Hux doesn't look away from Kylo. He can't see Kylo's face where it's buried in his knees, but he scans his body for any signal at all.

"Kylo, why are you up here?" Hux tries. When he continues to get nothing, he cautiously sets a hand on Kylo's shoulder.

The reaction is instantaneous. Kylo turns to stone under his touch and whips his head up, wide eyes staring at Hux unseeingly and Hux has to fight the urge to flinch back, breath catching in his throat.

"Why--" Hux swallows, trying to steady his heart rate. "Why are you up here?"

Kylo opens his mouth, unblinking and breathing shallowly. "I...I...." Hux has to lean closes to make out his strained whisper. "I... _hear_."

Ice drops into Hux's stomach. "What do you hear?"

Kylo's gaze tracks past Hux, out into in the empty room. "It's loud. It's...in me."

Hux's heart is pounding in his ears and he has the sudden urge to look behind himself but he keeps his eyes on Kylo, curling his fingers into the fabric of Kylo's jacket. "We're going," he says, proud at how even he sounds despite the fact that he can feel the force of his heart beat jolting his body with each pump.

"No arguments," Phasma responds, hushed.

"Come on, Kylo, let's go." Hux rises, tugging on Kylo's jacket when he finds his feet. To his surprise, Kylo follows his movement, rising clumsily and stumbling until Hux catches him around the waist to steady him. Phasma takes Kylo's arm on the on the other side and together they lead Kylo out of the attic and maneuver him down the stairs.

Hux tries to ask Kylo a few more questions but he's gone completely silent, staring down at his feet and not engaging. Until they pass through the living room.

As soon as they're within range of the sofa, Kylo perks up and turns his steps toward it. Hux tightens his grip and he and Phasma pick up their pace.

They don't slow down once they're outside, basically pushing Kylo through the yard until they finally reach the _Finalizer_. Phasma shuts and locks the door while Hux shoves Kylo down onto the couch. He's still staring vacantly and not responding to his questions. Hux runs a hand through his hair, gripping a handful at the roots in frustration, trying to ground himself with the pain.

"Okay what the fuck was that," Phasma demands, hand on her hips, looking from Kylo to Hux and back.

Hux makes a helpless gesture. "Are you still happy you outvoted me?" he snaps, Kylo's unresponsiveness and the whole situation putting him even more on edge than he already was.

"Did you know this was going to happen?!"

"No! How could I have possibly known that _this_ would happen?" Setting aside the fact that he suspected something might go wrong after hearing that recording, there's no way Hux could have predicted this exact outcome.

Phasma drags a hand down her face. "So you have no idea what's going on."

"Well--" Hux looks at Kylo, who's still staring blankly, although now he's started muttering to himself. "Clearly the house is affecting Kylo somehow. He kept telling me he didn't feel anything. So either he's lying or he doesn't realize anything is wrong. But...." If Kylo's reaction to his dream is any indication, the latter seems unlikely. "Phasma there's something I should tell you."

Her eyebrows shoot toward her hairline. "Oh?"

"It's...." Hux sighs. "Help me get him into bed first."

Together, they wrangle Kylo under his blankets and watch until he seems to settle somewhat. Hux has to keep himself from tracing the tense lines of Kylo's face because a) Phasma is right there and b) that's a stupid, unproductive thing to do.

"Alright," Phasma says expectantly, flopping down at the table. "Hit me."

Hux slides onto the bench across from her and takes a breath.

He tells her about the misplaced mic and the conversation he overheard on the audio file. She actually seems a bit impressed with his immorality and he swears he didn't _want_ to eavesdrop, it just...happened. Mostly, she's perplexed by the whole thing.

"But we haven't gotten _any_ evidence. Like at all," she insists. "If the Ainsley House is haunted, we should have picked up _something_ by now."

"I'm not disagreeing and I don't know what's going on any more than you do." Hux rubs his temple, a stress headache tight behind his eyes. "But something is clearly wrong with Kylo. People don't act like this unless they're concussed or possessed."

"God, I hope he's not possessed."

Hux chuckles darkly. "So do I."

They both turn to stare into the dark sleeping cabin.

"Okay--" Phasma rubs her eyes and pushes to her feet. "Since work is over for the night, I'm gonna get some sleep. Maybe Kylo will be more lucid in the morning."

"Good idea."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "You should get some sleep too."

Hux waves a hand at the suggestion. He's exhausted but far too high-strung to sleep. "I might, if I get tired enough."

She looks dissatisfied.

"Go to bed. I'll be fine."

After a second, she acquiesces with another brief unconvinced glance and heads to bed.

Hux listens until she stops shifting around. Kylo is still and breathing deeply when he checks so Hux allows himself to relax a bit.

Then he immediately gets bored of that and opens his laptop. He doesn't really have a direction in mind when he starts up his browser, but when he finds himself staring at his email account he realizes his body is several steps ahead of his tired brain and enters Dr. Snoke's address into the recipient box.

The email is short and perfunctory, not giving much except that Kylo is behaving erratically and Hux is concerned for his safety. He sends it off with an vague sense of unease. Snoke will occasionally contact Hux for updates on Kylo but Hux has never reached out to him about the medium before. He wonders how Snoke will respond.

After that's done, Hux opens Google. He's not sure what he's looking for but he hates the pervasive helplessness of this whole situation too much to just do nothing. Hux refuses to feel useless.

He starts with a basic search on mediums. He's well-versed on the world of supposed psychic abilities; the rumors surrounding Kylo before they'd even met had been enough to pique his curiosity and when he learned the medium was joining their team, he took it on himself to learn as much as possible. Not that there's much to learn. Psychics, like ghosts, still mainly exist as fantasy in the larger social consciousness, so Hux scans through a couple pages of tripe before narrowing his search parameters.

His renewed search also seems unhelpful, until Hux's eyes catch on a link he's never seen before announcing the personal research blog of Dr. Amilyn Holdo. Intrigued, he clicks on it. Research blogs are often the closest to academic works you can get in the metaphysical field. The blog interface is sleek and uncluttered, links along the side denoting different categories. A bit of text at the top of the page introduces Dr. Amilyn Holdo as a professor of psychology and parapsychology at Alderaan University. 

Hux sits up straighter in his chair. Alderaan University is one of the few other institutions in the world to offer degrees in metaphysical and parapsychological studies. Before he was recruited by Snoke, Hux had actually flown to California to tour the Alderaan campus. He was supposed to meet the department head, Dr. Organa, but she'd been called away suddenly on a family matter. Ultimately, Snoke was too persuasive and Hux and Phasma enrolled in his graduate program at Arkanis. If Dr. Holdo really is a professor at Alderaan, her information can probably be trusted.

Hux scrolls through the categories, clicking a couple to see what kind of research she's doing. Her posts seem to consist of observations based on her students and her reading. She mentions the names of several authors, all of which Hux scribbles down to look into later, and she outlines a few theories regarding past-life consciousness. He's going through the "medium" tag when a particular title catches his attention.

_Mediums and Empathic Signatures_

Hux leans forward, clicking the post quickly to reveal the entire text.

_It's my experience that many mediums, in addition to sensing the presence of past-life consciousness, also possess the capability to connect with empathic imprints. Empaths can sense the emotions of living people, and mediums share much in common with empaths as far as where their abilities come from and how they behave. Therefore, it follows that while mediums can interact with passed consciousnesses, they are also sensitive to emotional imprints._

Hux considers this and decides it make sense. Operating under the assumption that these supernatural abilities all exist, mediums do have a lot in common with empaths.

_Even if a past-life consciousness isn't present, if an event or individual left a particularly strong emotional signature, it's entirely possible a medium may latch into it the same way they would a spirit. But this poses much more risk to the medium's state of mind than merely interacting with a spirit does. Empathic signatures have no structure or container. Feelings exist to be felt, and sensitive individuals like mediums are very easy targets for strong emotional imprints. In this way, empathic signatures are like semi-permeable past-life consciousnesses; when given the opportunity, they will invade a host._

Hux swallows hard, recalling Kylo's blank eyes and furious pacing, his preoccupation with the sofa and his fear in the attic.

_Mediums shouldn't spend much time in emotionally-charged locations, especially if the emotional imprints aren't attached to passed consciousnesses. They will be more vulnerable to influence the longer they remain. I have observed mediums completely lose themselves to empathic signatures, their true personality underwritten by the lingering emotional power of the location. Attached to this post are my notes from a few pertinent investigations where the mediums on my teams were especially affected despite a lack of digital evidence on my end--_

Hux leans back in his chair, breathless, pieces slotting together into a troubling picture. Even though the Ainsley House isn't haunted by ghosts, it _is_ haunted by the horrific event that took place within its walls. If Dr. Holdo's observations are correct, Kylo is possessed, in a way.

Seized by a sudden morbid curiosity, Hux opens a new tab and enters the address for the Crescent Brook museum. Despite Mr. Keller's best efforts, the museum maintains ownership over Joseph Ainsley's personal effects, including his diary, which had been scanned and archived on their website. Hux had glanced through it when they got the assignment but he'd been too irritated to really read it at the time. Now, he has to know.

Most of Joseph's diary is pretty ordinary. He details the building of the house and the activities of his wife and kids. Every once in a while, there will be an indication of his mental illness, a mention of seeing shadows or hearing voices, but Joseph himself brushes the occurrences off and things seem normal otherwise.

The interesting stuff starts a few days before, historically, a homeless man turned up dead in Crescent Brook.

_July 16, 1910_

_The man came again. I was in the garden with Anna and Mary. He stood behind them and told me what I already knew. He touched them and I could see smears of dirt left behind by his fingers but Anna and Mary didn't see him. Even though it was day, the stars were out and he pointed at them. He's getting tired of waiting._

Over the next few weeks, Hux knows two men were killed in town but the townspeople chalked it up to drifters. No one would have thought to suspect mild-mannered family man Joseph Ainsley. Feeling slightly sick, Hux clicks through until he gets to October, 1910. Joseph's entries become increasingly short and scarce as time goes on.

_October 2, 1910_

_Charles arrived. I'm grateful. He can look after Anna and the kids while I'm different. I'm trying to be Joseph but he's getting further from me each day. The man lives here now, and there are others too. In the root cellar. I hear them every day now. Screaming. They're tired of waiting. Anna is worried about me but she can't hear the screaming. She loves Joseph. I try to be Joseph. Carter is in the room with me now. I know him he is my son. He is Joseph's son. They are tired of waiting._

Hux's skin prickles at the words on the screen. Joseph Ainsley was a sick man with no frame of reference for what was happening to him and no recourse. The fear and helplessness he must have been feeling.... Hux doesn't have schizophrenia, but he understands.

The second-to-last entry is dated the day before the murder. 

_October 13, 1910_

_I cannot even see their faces anymore. Joseph is gone I can't be him anymore and the man is with me always. He speaks and the walls rot. I rot. My children my wife my brother. I cannot see them. The others in the cellar have come upstairs behind the wood. I built this house with monsters inside. Anna wants Joseph to go to a doctor. I can't be Joseph but I love Anna. The man loves her too. He wants and he is tired of waiting. Tired._

With trembling fingers, Hux clicks the next button.

_the last day_

_I love my family. Joseph cannot have them. I am ended and the man and the others are waiting. I am tired of_

A note at the bottom of the page explains the rest of the writing was obscured by a bloody handprint.

Hux gazes fixedly at Joseph's last entry. He can almost feel the confusion and exhaustion through the screen leeching into his own bones. His fingers are cold and his head is heavy and spinning. He closes his eyes against his headache, blocking out the glowing laptop screen, and folds his arms on the desk, resting his head on them. Just for a moment. He just needs a minute to digest everything. Holdo's theories, Joseph's suffering, his own sudden understanding. They're buzzing under his skin and the world is tilting--

\---

Hux wakes with a start to the feeling of someone looming over him. He jolts upright in his chair on a gasp and whips his head up to see Kylo standing next to him. He's not necessarily looming, but his massive size kind of makes it look like he's looming all the time.

He is looking down at Hux, though, wearing a lost expression.

"Kylo," Hux says quickly, trying to calm his breathing. He rubs a hand over his eyes, irritated to realize he'd fallen asleep at the desk. A quick glance at the time reveals he hasn't been out long and the RV is still dark save for the desk lamp. "Is something wrong?"

Kylo blinks vacantly at Hux, mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.

Hux frowns. "Kylo? Are you okay?"

"I'm...I'm...." Kylo's voice is stilted and he slowly raises his arms, now bare of his jacket. "I'm bleeding?"

Hux drops his gaze to Kylo's arms and instantly shoots to his feet, grabbing Kylo's wrists. "Oh my god." Long gashes run the lengths of his forearms, leaking blood in sluggish rivulets down his skin. Panic surges in Hux's chest and he has to force himself not to scream as he inspects the wounds. "How did this happen?" he asks hoarsely as he turns Kylo's arms gently. None of the gashes look deep, thankfully, but there are at least five of them on each arm and they're all bleeding. "Kylo, what--" Hux's gaze snags on Kylo's hands and a wave a nausea washes over him. Kylo's blunt fingernails are caked with blood. "Fuck."

"I--I don't know what happened," Kylo stammers. "I w-woke up and it...it hurt."

"It's okay, Kylo," Hux tries to reassure him, but he's not sure how effective it is when he probably looks like he's seen a ghost, metaphorically speaking. "It's not that bad. We just need some gauze, we just need--Phasma!" Hux calls into the sleeping cabin.

She jerks awake instantly. "What?" she yells back groggily.

"Get the first aid kit," Hux instructs, pulling Kylo by the wrists over to the sofa and guiding him down onto it. He hears her get out of bed and stumble into the bathroom.

Hux kneels in front of Kylo for the third time that night, keeping his hands firmly wrapped around Kylo's wrists so he can't move his arms. The blood is starting to trickle down and over his own skin. "Do you remember anything, Kylo?" he asks quietly.

He blinks blearily. "I think...I was dreaming. But it hurt so much I woke up and--" he swallows, staring at his arms. "And it still hurt."

Hux takes a deep breath just as Phasma hurries over, first aid kit in her hands. 

"Holy mother of fuck," she curses, eyes wide at the sight of Kylo's blood-covered arms.

Hux carefully releases Kylo's wrists in order to take the kit from her. "Can you go wet some towels?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." She rushes off.

Kylo doesn't say much as they tend to the wounds, occasionally hissing in pain or biting his lip when Hux dabs disinfectant onto the gashes. Hux tries to get as much information as he can but Kylo can't seem to focus for very long before he drifts off into a blank, hazy state. Hux is spinning with concern throughout the entire process.

After the gashes are safely cleaned and wrapped, Hux and Phasma bundle Kylo back into bed and sit on Hux's bunk to keep an eye on him.

"So _what_ happened?" Phasma whispers once Kylo has dropped back off.

Hux worries at his bottom lip with his teeth. "I was doing some research and I fell asleep at the desk. When I woke up, he was standing over me and his arms were all slashed up. He was pretty out of it, but he told me he had a dream and when he woke up, his arms were...like that." Hux drops his voice even further. "You saw his nails, right?"

"Yeah." Phasma grimaces. "You think he really did that to himself in his sleep?"

Hux scrapes at a line of dried blood on the back of his hand with his nail. "I don't see any other possibilities, do you?"

Phasma shakes her head, glancing over at Kylo's restless form. "This is fucked up."

"I've emailed Snoke. I did it earlier, before--" Hux makes a vague hand gesture, "--this, but I did mention I was worried for Kylo's safety. I'll wait for his response, but whatever he says, I don't want Kylo going back into the House."

Phasma is nodding along with his words. "I agree. Some weird behavior is one thing, but this is insane."

_Insane_. Hux recalls Joseph Ainsley's diary. _That's one way to put it_.

Phasma goes back to bed after Hux assures her he's way too worked up to sleep so he'll stay up and keep an eye on Kylo. 

He sits on his own bunk and watches Kylo toss and turn fitfully. Kylo's bed stretches across the end of the cabin, right under the window that looks out the back of the RV. Through the window, Hux can make out the dark silhouettes of trees and, above them, a swath of indigo sky scattered with stars.

Hux finds himself transfixed by the clusters of lights, tracing the lines between them with his eyes. He draws the familiar shape of the Little Dipper before his gaze is drawn to the stars surrounding it. _Ursa Minor_. Suddenly, the twinkling pinpricks smudge together in swirls of white and navy as tears gather in Hux's eyes. Shocked, Hux raises a hand and dabs at the water rolling down his cheeks. He can't remember the last time he cried. The stress of situation must be getting to him.

Hux's gaze drops to Kylo and falls on his pale face, painted completely white by the starlight shining through the window. Perhaps it's just the lighting, but the shadows hanging on his eyes and under his cheekbones look especially deep.

Hux looks back up at the stars. They have to leave this place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I ever actually mentioned this because I'm kind of forgetful but someone asked me recently so I'll just say it: Phasma has diabetes. Most of ya'll probably got that but I'm not sure if it'll ever come up explicitly. Anyway, let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night is always darkest before the dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so exciting. With File 02 complete, First Order Investigations is on its way to being a real series! Thanks to everyone who commented and encouraged me to keep going, it means more than I can say. Mic, I love you, thanks for reading everything and making sure my overly-sentimental drivel actually sounded like a real story.
> 
> See end notes for tw descriptions

Hux has cared about approximately two people in his entire life: his step-mother and Phasma. He was too young when his biological mother died to remember if he cared about her too. He probably did, but he can't count her on the list of people he actively cares about, of which there are very few.

Now, as he carefully checks Kylo's bandages after staying up all night to make sure he didn't hurt himself, Hux is forced to concede that Kylo has been added to that list. He'd been doing his best to forget the sun-soaked moment they shared in the _Finalizer_ back in South Carolina, the moment that alerted him to a new feeling in his chest inspired by the frustrating medium, but he can't get the memory off his mind this morning.

Kylo hadn't woken up again during the night and, as Hux presses a hand to his cheek now, his skin feels feverish and dry to the touch. Hux fusses with the blankets covering him for a second before turning at the sound of Phasma exiting the bathroom.

"How is he?" she asks, running a brush through her hair.

"The gashes seem to be closing up alright but I think he's running a fever." Hux pushes himself to his feet on a sigh. His headache from last night had never really gone away and going nearly 24 hours with virtually no sleep hadn't proven very helpful. Now it sits like a hot stone behind his eyes, protesting every time he has to focus on something. "I'm going to go ahead and exercise my _leaderly powers_ , as you put it, and say that we're leaving."

Phasma fiddles with the brush in her hands. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever's happening in this place isn't showing itself but Kylo's been getting worse the longer we're here."

"If Snoke is displeased, I'll handle it."

"Right, then we should--" Phasma's words are cut off by a sharp _ding_ from her phone. Brow furrowed, she pulls it out and checks the screen. "Huh."

"What is it?" Hux asks.

"It's Desta." She slides him a look without raising her head. "My waitress friend."

"Oh."

"She wants to meet up."

" _Oh_."

"I'll tell her I'm busy."

"No, wait," Hux says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You may as well go. We can't get in to get the equipment until tour hours are over anyway, so we're pretty much stuck here." Hux had gone in very early that morning to switch everything off while Phasma kept an eye on Kylo but there hadn't been time to start loading things up before visitors started to arrive. "Since we're leaving today, you should meet up one more time if you want to."

Phasma narrows her eyes at him. "Hux, you need to sleep and someone has to watch Kylo."

Hux waves his hand. "There is no way I'll be able to sleep until we're well away from this place."

She presses her lips together, unconvinced.

"I'm serious. It's just one more day. I'll take a nap as soon as we start driving away." Hux smiles ruefully. "I've stayed up longer than this. Remember Savannah?"

The corner of Phasma's mouth quirks up. "Yeah, that was...a mess. Fine, I'll go." She starts tapping on her phone screen. "I'll be back by five, I promise."

"Don't get into too much trouble."

"Your faith in me is heart-warming."

After Phasma primps a little and leaves in the car, Hux bustles about the cabin for a bit, tidying aimlessly. He reviews and files the rest of the data from the cameras and microphones, organizes the kitchen, looks into the authors Dr. Holdo mentioned, and is in the middle of reading about one of the potential sites Phasma has lined up when his phone buzzes with an email.

Before he can pull it out to check it, a moan from the sleeping cabin rips his attention away.

"Kylo?" Hux launches himself to his feet and crosses the RV in a few big steps. "Are you alright?"

Kylo is twisted up in the sheets on his bed, curled on his side with one hand buried in his hair and the other clutching the sheet beside his head. As Hux approaches, he moans again and hunches into himself even more. He doesn't react when Hux perches on the side of the mattress or when Hux places a hesitant hand on his shoulder. His fingers are coiled so tightly in his hair that his knuckles are white. If he pulls any harder, Hux fears he'll start ripping out whole chunks.

"Kylo." Hux shakes Kylo slightly. Or, at least, he tries to. Kylo is such a solid weight that Hux finds trying to jostle him akin to stirring a refrigerator. A refrigerator that's clearly having a nightmare. "Wake up. It's just a dream. Come on now--" Hux reaches for Kylo's hand, worried for his follicles, and pries his fingers open with great difficulty. Deprived of his own hair to clutch, Kylo's fingers find Hux's and latch on, squeezing with bruising strength. 

Hux hisses quietly in discomfort but quickly abandons any attempt to get free. At least if Kylo is crushing his hand, he's not hurting himself. Kylo moans and shudders and Hux instinctively squeezes his hand in return, placing his free palm against Kylo's cheek. He's still hot to the touch and his face is lined with pain, brow furrowed and jaw tight. Frowning, Hux smoothes the locks that were displaced by Kylo's clutching fingers into place behind Kylo's ear.

With a start, he remembers the email notification and shifts around until he can slide his phone out of his pocket. When he sees that it's from Snoke, he opens it immediately.

_Mr. Hux,_

_Thank you for the update regarding my student's well-being. While I appreciate your concern, I expect you to fulfill your obligation and remain at the site for the full four observation days. Understand that Mr. Ren's behavior is perfectly ordinary and judgment of such falls outside your typical purview. I certainly hope I won't have to bring Saint Christina into this._

_Dr. Snoke_

Hux's blood runs cold at the last line. _Saint Christina_. Snoke hasn't had to use that card in ages. He must really want them to remain at the Ainsley House for reasons Hux cannot fathom. Absurdly, Hux feels like a scolded child and his cheeks flush angrily as he rereads the message.

The condescension is clear. _...judgment of such falls outside your typical purview_. Please. Snoke may as well call him a meddling imbecile. But most of his correspondences with Snoke include passive-aggressiveness and hostile undertones, so that doesn't bother him. No, the concerning part is Snoke's complete lack of care on behalf of his pupil. Hux, someone who would rather saw his own leg off than abandon a job half-way through, had explicitly stated his concerns for Kylo's safety and expressed an interest in leaving on those grounds, but Snoke brushed it off like it was nothing.

Hux looks past his phone, to the hand that Kylo is still holding, and his gaze travels up Kylo's wrist until it catches on the gauze wrapped tightly around his arm. _Understand that Mr. Ren's behavior is perfectly ordinary...._ Hux's eyes linger on the gauze before tracing the tense line of Kylo's body to settle on his strained expression. He absently strokes his thumb over Kylo's rough knuckles. He knows without looking that Kylo's nail-beds are still dark with blood. _...perfectly ordinary..._. As he watches, Kylo whimpers and screws his eye shut even tighter. Perfectly ordinary or not, Hux isn't going to stand for it.

They're leaving regardless of what Dr. Snoke wants.

\---

As soon as Hux's watch ticks over to five o'clock, Hux is out the door to accept the keys from the last tour guide. He'd called Keller earlier to inform him that they're leaving today and hadn't found anything worth sharing. He'd seemed disappointed but Hux was beyond caring. 

Phasma isn't back yet, but Hux trusts she'll be along shortly and figures he may as well get a head start on packing. He doesn't want to leave Kylo alone, but he's been quiet the past few hours and Hux feels that it's important they get out of here as quickly as possible. However, he had locked all the knives and other sharp kitchen implements in his personal cupboard before he left the _Finalizer_. Just in case.

Hux moves through the first floor quickly, packing everything in its appropriate case with as much speed and efficiency as his tired hands can manage, piling everything in the entryway to take out when Phasma arrives.

Speaking of-- Hux hears a car pull up outside and sets aside the zip-ties he'd been bundling together. A car door slams as Hux is making his way through the living room.

"Hux!" Phasma calls from the yard, her voice muffled through layers of wood. "I'm back!"

Before Hux can respond or make it outside, he hears a shriek and a sickening _clunk_. Panicked, he breaks into a run and bursts out the front door in time to see Phasma drop to the ground, revealing Kylo standing behind her, one hand holding a skillet that Hux, horrified, recognizes as his. As soon as Hux steps onto the porch, Kylo's head snaps up, and, even from this distance, Hux can tell there's something _wrong_ with him, something that makes Hux stumble backwards instinctively.

He glances at Phasma, sprawled in the dirt, and wants to run to her, but then Kylo is stepping over her, stalking toward him, and Hux doesn't have a choice. He spins around and races back into the house, slamming and locking the door behind himself.

He has no plan, no idea of what to do beyond _get away from Kylo_. He reaches for his phone, finds all of his pockets empty, and has a brief, horrifying vision of his phone sitting on the kitchen counter because _that's where he fucking left it--_

Behind him, the door shudders with the force of something hitting it from the other side and he scrambles across the entryway. He bursts into the kitchen and looks around desperately for something, anything--his eyes catch on the display of original cooking knives taking up one counter-top. The actual murder weapon had been taken by the police and misplaced, but the rest of the set Anna Ainsley used to cook was kept with the house. The display features the knives laid out in fitted velvet divots with one large divot left purposefully empty at one end and is protected by nothing but an unlocked glass case that's easy to lift and slip a hand under. Hux feels sick as he wraps his fingers around the handle of a long chef's knife and pulls it out. He doesn't want to hurt Kylo, but he's out of his mind. He just hit Phasma with a skillet. Hux needs to...he needs to defend himself--

A flash of _a dim basement, bared yellow teeth, reaching for the handle of an axe--_

Hux shakes his head, tightening his grip on the knife. This is nothing like that. This time, he won't have to--

A deafening crash echoes through the room and Hux startles, looking up to see Kylo lurch into the kitchen, clearly having bust through the front door. He catches sight of Hux and Hux finds himself frozen, staring with dread into Kylo's shallow, wild black eyes. Then Kylo lifts the skillet in his hand and Hux barely has time to duck behind the counter before Kylo throws it across the kitchen, right through the space Hux was just standing. It clangs off the opposite wall and Hux is moving before it hits the ground, half-crawling, half-running around the counter to get to the kitchen door.

He hesitates for a beat in the living room, eyes lingering on the hall that would lead him to the back door. Maybe he could make a break for the woods and lose Kylo in the trees? But the Ainsley House sits on a large lot that was cleared for visitor parking; Kylo would outpace him on the flat terrain in a heartbeat. 

His split-second of indecision allows Kylo to catch up with him and Hux just dodges the hand that shoots out to grab him. He rounds the couch, keeping Kylo in sight, fingers trembling around the handle of the knife. His heart is throwing itself against his ribs in time with his panting breaths and Kylo's blank expression is bleeding ice into his veins. Hux knew staying here was a bad idea, but he never imagined that Kylo would attack them. He should have left as soon as Kylo got sick, as soon as he read Holdo's blog, as soon as it became obvious there were no _ghosts_ in this reportedly _haunted house--_

Kylo jolts to the left and Hux counters rapidly, keeping the couch between them, holding the knife in front of himself defensively. "Come on, Kylo," Hux pleads, breathless. "Snap out of it. I know you don't really want to kill me." At least, he hopes to god Kylo doesn't really want to kill him.

Kylo narrows his eyes and lunges back to the right. Hux matches him.

"This house is fucking with you, Kylo, you have to wake up!"

Kylo gives no indication that he can hear Hux, instead charging around the couch before Hux can react and making another grab at him. Hux leaps backwards out of the way and trips over to the stairs, jaw clenched. If Kylo doesn't snap out of it soon--

Hux pounds up the stairs, barely two feet ahead of Kylo and stumbles into the second-floor hallway. He glances around frantically for somewhere to hide but before he can even move, Kylo is bearing down on him. He backs up quickly, knife gripped tightly and pointed at Kylo, whose stance has shifted into something distinctly predatory.

"Please, Kylo," Hux gasps as Kylo prowls toward him. "Don't--don't do this. I--I don't want to hurt you, I--" Hux feels his back hit the window at the end of the hall. "Kylo, this isn't you, and--and I know you'll hate yourself forever if--if you--"

Kylo comes to a stop less than a foot away from Hux, letting the point of the knife sit just above his sternum. He stares blankly down at Hux, who's shaking, who's pressed flat against the glass of the window behind him, who's blinking tears out of his eyes. He's not attacking. Hux could...with the knife...he could...it would only take one push....

Hux's hand spasms around the handle of the knife and the point bites slightly into the fabric of Kylo's shirt. Kylo's doesn't react. Hux takes a shuddering breath and grits his teeth. And drops the knife.

It clatters to the floor at their feet, and almost before Hux can register that it's out of his hand, Kylo is seizing his shoulders with bone-crushing strength and pulling him forward.

"Kylo--"

Then Kylo shoves him back with so much force that Hux's feet leave the ground. His back hits the window, but he doesn't stop. The world around him cracks and shatters and Hux keeps going backwards, his legs catching on the sill and tipping him over as he falls. For a breathless, suspended moment, all he knows is the cool evening air against his skin, the swoop in his stomach as gravity shifts, and Kylo's emotionless black eyes boring into him. And then everything is blurred and rushing and--

Gone.

\---

Hux falls out of unconsciousness with a sharp gasp and then immediately wishes he hadn't. Every inch of his body aches like he's been struck with a hammer over and over again. His head is pounding, each heartbeat sending a stab of pain through his brain that scatters his gathering thoughts like marbles.

He takes a steadying breath as his faculties return. He's lying on his side, a hard surface pressing uncomfortably against him, and every minute movement makes pain lance through his limbs. His heart-rate spikes as he recalls why he's here: the chase through the house, dropping the knife, crashing through the window--

Hux resists the urge to groan at the memory. Dropping the knife had been a stupid decision, but what on earth was he going to do with it? Stab Kylo? No, as foolish as it had been, it had been the only option. And at the very least he isn't dead quite yet, as far as he can tell. Just bruised and aching and scared within an inch of his life.

Carefully, Hux shifts his arms, intending to push himself upright, but finds that he can't move them very far, something tight around his wrists keeping them immobile. Sucking in a panicked breath, Hux finally opens his eyes, blinking to clear them and struggling to focus through the dim lighting that greets him. He finds himself squinting into the living room of the Ainsley House, the old furniture and dark wood-paneled walls lit by nothing but a few period-reminiscent lamps. A figure is slumped on the couch and Hux bites back a gasp as he realizes that it's Kylo, hunched over his knees with his head in his hands. His form is mostly shadows, backlit by the weak yellow light of the lamps, but his distress is obvious.

Hux glances down at his wrists to find them bound in front of him with a zip-tie. Probably one of the zip-ties they keep with the equipment cases for cable management. An imperceptible movement of his legs confirms that his ankles are bound similarly. Panic once again swells in his chest and he swallows against it. He can't afford to break down. Not now.

He glances around for something nearby that he can use to get free but suddenly Kylo's head snaps up and he zeroes in on Hux with eyes that are still hollow and manic. Hux freezes as Kylo sways to his feet and stoops to pick up something sitting on the coffee table. The blade of Anna Ainsley's chef's knife gleams in the lamplight as Kylo steps toward Hux.

"Kylo, w--wait, don't--" Kylo kneels over him and Hux cuts off, biting his lip at the sight of the blade approaching him. Hysterically, he hopes Snoke shares some of the blame when he and Phasma turn up dead. He hopes Kylo won't have to bear it alone. 

But the knife doesn't plunge into his chest or slice across his throat. Instead, Kylo deftly slides the blade between Hux's bound hands and cuts the zip-tie with a quick movement.

"What are you...?"

Wordlessly, Kylo moves down to Hux's feet and repeats the process, freeing Hux's legs. Then, before Hux can react, Kylo roughly pushes himself to his feet and stalks across the room, still gripping the knife. He reaches the opposite wall and raises his arm. With a shout, he swings his arm down, burying the knife half-way into the wood, and Hux jumps, shoving himself into a sitting position.

Kylo doesn't turn around, still facing the wall and breathing so heavily that Hux can see his shoulders rising and falling from across the room.

"Kylo?" Hux tries, standing cautiously. "Are you--" he stops. Kylo obviously isn't okay, no part of this is okay. "Do...do you know where you are?"

Kylo's head twitches slightly to the side.

Hux takes a halting step toward him. "Do you know who I am?"

Kylo's hands curl into fists.

"I know...I know you're confused right now." Hux creeps closer, keeping a sharp eye on Kylo's body language. "But we need to get out of here. This place--this house is making you act this way. It's making you hurt your--" Hux stumbles on the word. _Friends_. Are they? Phasma probably is; Kylo always got along better with her than with Hux. But is Hux Kylo's friend? They're certainly not rivals anymore--South Carolina took care of that--but _friends_ sounds.... "This isn't the real you, Kylo."

Kylo shudders, shoulders hunching, as Hux comes within an arm's length of him.

"Come on," Hux forces out, raising a shaking hand and spanning the distance between them. "Let's...let's get out of here, Kylo." He lays his hand on Kylo's back.

Instantly, Kylo whips around, eyes alight and face twisted with rage. Hux gasps and stumbles backward but can't get out of the way quickly enough as Kylo's wide hands wrap around his neck. Kylo jerks him around and slams him against the wall so hard that Hux sees stars. He grabs Kylo's wrists and pulls, trying to pry his hands away, but Kylo's grip is like iron, slowly tightening until Hux can barely draw breath.

"Kylo--" Hux chokes. "Don't d--do this--"

Kylo only squeezes tighter, eyes flashing dangerously and teeth bared. Hux's vision swims and his hands twitch around Kylo's wrists. Kylo is pinning him so firmly that Hux can't get any leverage to stomp on his foot, but he'll pass out if this goes on for any longer.

Mouthing a quick apology, Hux does the only thing he has the mobility to do and levers his knee into Kylo's crotch. Kylo's grip loosens almost instantaneously with a pained grunt and Hux doesn't waste time, taking advantage of his distraction by swinging his fist into Kylo's jaw. The blow knocks Kylo to the side and Hux breaks into a run, bolting the few feet between him and the back hallway and throwing himself against the back door.

It bursts open and Hux barely breaks stride as he crosses the porch. Maybe he delayed Kylo enough that he can make it to the tree-line before Kylo catches up--

Something slams into him from behind, sending him tripping down the few steps from the porch to the yard and he hits the ground hard, crying out in pain. He twists in Kylo's grasp, desperate to get away, but Kylo is too strong, his weight pressing Hux down into the dirt. Rough hands turn him over so that he's facing Kylo and he catches sight of the blossoming mark on Kylo's cheek and Kylo's wild expression.

"Kylo, you have to snap out of this!" Hux begs as Kylo's hand find his throat once again. He bucks violently but Kylo is just too heavy, one kneeling leg pinning Hux's hips and leaving his feet kicking uselessly. The mercilessness and swiftness of his actions chills Hux so completely he can barely feel Kylo's fingers tightening around his neck.

As his airway is cut off, Hux's nails dig into Kylo's arms, scraping away the gauze and scratching over the long scabs spanning Kylo's skin. He gouges his nails as deep as they'll go, trying to break Kylo out of this rampage, or at least distract him long enough to get away, and Kylo winces, blinking hard, but doesn't let go.

"Please," Hux says in a strangled whisper, feeling tears gather in the corners of his eyes. "Please, Kylo--" The ground tilts underneath him and Kylo's face fades in and out of focus. Even worse than the pain throbbing through his body and his rapidly depleting oxygen is the thought of how Kylo will feel when he finally comes back to himself, possibly in a jail cell in Crescent Brooke, after murdering his teammates and probably the closest things to friends he has. Kylo, who likes stargazing and knows how to fix cars and cried at a mere dream of this very scenario, who's just a kid--he doesn't deserve this.

Black splotches crowd the edges of Hux's vision and he can feel his grip on Kylo's arms slackening. His eyelids dip shut against the sight of Kylo's enraged face. Everything in his head feels fuzzy and loose. Numbly, he lets his hands fall to the side and his legs still against the ground. A wave of lethargy washes over him and he's helpless as it carries him away--

Suddenly, the pressure on his throat is gone and Hux drags in a gulp of air almost involuntarily, his oxygen-starved body taking over. Hux coughs at the burn in his lungs, curling up on his side and wrapping his arms around himself to steady his heaving chest. Dimly, he registers that Kylo's weight is gone but a new round of coughs shakes through him before he can think any further than that.

Footsteps near his head drag him out of his fog and he looks up, still gasping, in time to see Kylo stumbling away from him, toward the woods. The end of the Ainsley massacre story flashes through his mind with such vivid clarity that the hairs on the back of Hux's neck stand on end.

"Kylo--" he wheezes, trying to get his trembling arms underneath himself. "Wait!" 

By the time he manages to get his wobbly legs under him, Kylo has staggered into the woods. Hux lurches after him, ignoring the large part of his brain that's yelling at him to get away from the person who just tried to kill him. He can't leave Kylo alone, not if he's reenacting the Ainsley massacre.

"Please, Kylo--" Hux shouts hoarsely, faltering and falling against the trunk of a tree, clutching it for support. "Don't make me run! I've nearly been strangled to death, I can't--can't breathe--" Hux gasps, his burning lungs contracting agonizingly with each breath. The world sways sickeningly and Hux slides down the tree until his knees hit the ground. He loses his grip on the tree and pitches sideways--

But he doesn't hit the ground. Instead, there are arms around him, lowering him gently to the ground, and Hux suffers a split-second of blinding panic before he realizes Kylo isn't pinning him down or wrapping hands around his neck. He's holding Hux gingerly, speaking to him, though Hux is far too muddled to make out the words, and there's a hand on his face.

Slowly, Hux's heartbeat quiets enough that he can hear again and he can breathe without shaking.

"Come on, Hux, please, look at me--" Kylo is saying, his voice wavering and Hux forces his eyes open, not remembering when he closed them. Kylo's face swims into focus, pale and stricken, tear tracks tracing down his cheeks. At the sight of Hux looking back at him, a fresh wave of tears spills over his eyelids. "Oh, god, Hux, I thought--I thought--"

"I'm okay," Hux croaks, throat protesting painfully. "I think I--I think I had a panic attack."

Kylo lets out a hysterical laugh, blinking rapidly. "Not to mention I nearly choked you to death because I--" he breaks off on a sob, biting his lip.

Hux raises a hand and carefully touches the tips of his fingers to Kylo's wet cheek. "Are you...back to normal?" he whispers.

Kylo stares down at him. Even in the darkness of the woods, Hux can tell Kylo's eyes have lost the hollowness they'd had in the house. "I...I don't know," Kylo responds haltingly. "I remember everything--I remember...feeling so angry and so--so _scared_ , and I can still feel it but...when I realized you...that you weren't...and I had my...I just--I didn't--"

Hux hushes him awkwardly, seeing the distress building in his face. "You can tell me later."

"Hux, I'm...I'm so sorry," Kylo says weakly, hunching miserably. "Whatever came over me just made me so , I just wanted to hurt you, but I would never-- normally, I'd never hurt you, or Phasma, or--"

Hux gasps as Kylo's eyes widen.

"Phasma," Hux breathes.

"I--I tied her up out front," Kylo says, already helping Hux sit up. "She must be--"

He's cut of by a muffled shout that sounds like it's coming from the other side of the house. "Hey! Is anyone there?!" It's definitely Phasma, and she sounds pissed. "If this is some sort of joke, someone is going to die!"

Hux feels his whole body deflate in relief at Phasma's distant voice. He accepts the hand Kylo holds out to help him up, but as soon as he tries to take a step, everything that happened throughout the evening slams into him at once and he staggers, grabbing Kylo for support. Kylo steadies him and sweeps worried eyes over his body.

"Are you okay? Is something broken?"

"I don't think so," Hux groans. "But I did fall out a window. I guess it's just catching up with me."

Kylo bites his lip, brows drawn together. Then he ducks down and, the next thing Hux knows, his feet are off the ground and Kylo is supporting him completely with one arm behind his back and one hooked under his knees.

"Kylo!" he squeaks, wrapping his arms around Kylo's neck as he starts walking. "What are you doing?"

"You probably shouldn't walk too much until you see a doctor," Kylo mumbles, dipping his head sheepishly.

Hux is about to demand to be put down--he will not be manhandled like some consumptive waif--but he really is in quite a bit of pain, and Kylo doesn't seem to be struggling with his weight at all, and, really, it's the least Kylo can do after what he just put Hux through.... So Hux keeps his mouth shut and cautiously leans his aching head against Kylo's shoulder, letting Kylo carry him through the yard.

\---

"I can't believe he pushed you out a window!" Phasma says loudly, much too loudly for the hospital waiting room the three of them are currently sitting in. "That's like action movie shit!"

Hux hushes her, glancing around at the curious stares her exclamation had attracted. Beside him, Kylo curls further into himself in his chair. "It was a little more complicated than that--"

"No, that's exactly what happened," Kylo mumbles. He's holding a towel to his left arm, where the gashes had been sliced open a bit worse than on his right. "I attacked both of you and I would have killed you if I hadn't come to my senses."

Hux cradles his aching head in his hands. "Do I have to explain Dr. Holdo's theories on empathic signatures again? For the _third time_?"

"I should be in prison Hux," Kylo hisses. "I assaulted you!"

"You weren't in your right mind."

"I just wanna say," Phasma cuts in, leaning forward in her chair slightly to catch their attention. "I'm very proud of the character development going on here. Two months ago, Hux would be faking his own death to get Kylo thrown in jail, and Kylo would have done much worse than push Hux out a second-story window, _empathic signature_ or not."

"That's ridiculous," Hux sniffs. "I wouldn't have to fake anything. My mother is a high-profile lawyer; all it would take is one phone call and Kylo would be confined to an asylum for life."

Kylo makes a noise that almost sounds like a chuckle, and when Hux glances over, he's looking at him with a watery smile. "At least I didn't damage your rotten personality," he says quietly.

"I'm much more resilient than people take me for." Hux smirks and goes to straighten up in his seat, but the pain flashing up and down his spine makes him wince and slump over again.

Kylo's face falls and his hand hovers nervously over Hux's body, probably unsure where to touch that isn't bruised or cut from his fall through the window. "Oh, god, please stop moving."

"Where is that fucking doctor?" Phasma growls, stretching up to see through the crowd in the emergency room.

Hux reaches up and grabs Kylo's wavering hand, squeezing tight to distract him from the inefficient thoughts Hux knows are racing through his head. Kylo doesn't meet his eyes.

Eventually, they are seen by a doctor, and they take great care to lie their asses off about what happened. Phasma wasn't smacked with a cast-iron skillet, she backed into a doorframe. Of course it was just an accident that Hux fell out a window. There must have a been a crack he couldn't see. And Kylo merely scratched himself in his sleep and absolutely nothing else happened. Wild, right?

The doctor seems suspicious but willing to believe that they simply had the night from hell. Hux's confident fibbing pacifies her eventually and they're released around 4 am.

After everything, Kylo needed six stitches in his left arm and a cold compress for the bruise blooming on his cheek; Phasma was treated for a mild concussion and given strict instructions to stay awake for the next twelve hours; and Hux was examined carefully for broken bones and internal bleeding after he told them he fell out a window but was eventually declared in the clear. The doctor grimaced at the sight of the bruising spread across Hux's back and also looked about two seconds from admitting him when he had to think back to the last time he slept through the night. Not to mention the sideways glances she kept shooting the mottled purple and red ringing his neck, which he waved away as an unfortunate encounter with some hanging cables. Eventually, she just cleaned the cuts from the glass, prescribed him some painkillers, and let him know how lucky he was. Hux can't help agreeing with her.

When they get back to the RV, Kylo and Phasma start packing the equipment into the loading bay right away. Hux attempts to help, but Phasma pushes him onto the couch, holding out the bottle of painkillers and a glass of water with a stern look. He can barely move without flinching in pain so he acquiesces with a sigh.

The plan is to load up and hit the road in the direction of their next site. They probably won't make it very far before they have to stop and rest, but anywhere is better than here. Even in the RV, Kylo is twitchy and haggard from the proximity to the House.

While he waits, Hux types up an email to Mr. Keller explaining the broken window in a way that may or may not make it seem like he's very lucky that Hux isn't suing him for endangering his patrons. After all, a safe window doesn't just _break_ when a normal-sized person gently leans on it, does it? Then he writes a message to Snoke stating that he made a command decision to remove the team from the Ainsley house for the health and well-being of its members. He doesn't mention Kylo's rampage but he can't really pinpoint why. He figures he'll mention it if it comes up, but otherwise there's no reason to talk about something that's obviously bothering Kylo so much.

That's all he has time to do before Kylo and Phasma finish up. Hux suggests hitching the car to the _Finalizer_ but Kylo mumbles something about wanting to drive the car out of town.

Hux casts him a worried look but allows it. Hux is okay to drive, as far as he's concerned, as long as he doesn't move too much, so he'll take the RV and lead them out of Crescent Brook and Phasma can sit beside him and stay awake.

"Just make sure to follow me. I drove in so I know how to get out."

Kylo nods, jaw tight, and rushes out of the RV. Hux watches him go with furrowed brows.

"He's super messed up about this."

Hux turns to see Phasma already lounging in the passenger seat, the glow from her phone throwing weird shadows across her face in the gloom. "He should get over it. I've already explained that it wasn't his fault."

"It'd be nice if it was that simple, but--" Phasma sits up and levels him with a solemn stare. "I know you know how he feels. At least a little."

_Phasma screaming, bared yellow teeth, reaching for the handle of an axe--_

"Remember--"

_The sickening crunch of bone--_ "I remember," Hux snaps. He crosses his arms against the memories. "But nothing happened. We're all fine."

Phasma shrugs. "Sometimes that doesn't matter." She looks back down at her phone.

Hux bites his lip, glancing out the windshield. It'll be dawn soon, but the sky is still dark and stars are still twinkling in the blackness.

Narrowing his eyes, Hux sits down behind the wheel, buckles his seatbelt, and shifts the _Finalizer_ into drive.

If Kylo is surprised by the direction Hux heads in, Hux has no way of knowing. He keeps an eye on the car in the side-mirrors of the RV and, after a moment of delay, Kylo falls in behind Hux as he winds his way carefully up the mountain road. The last time he was up here, he hadn't been driving and they'd been in a much more maneuverable vehicle, but even the fear of toppling off the side of a mountain isn't enough to change Hux's mind when he's serious about something. As soon as Phasma realizes they're not headed out of town, she sits up in her seat excitedly, like a dog catching wind of an interesting scent.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"We're going to knock some sense into our pet medium," Hux replies through his teeth.

The observation point is just as deserted as it was the other night. Hux parks the RV and climbs out without preamble, Phasma following behind with a gleeful smile.

A stripe of pink is glowing on the horizon, signaling the rapid approach of dawn, but a spread of stars is still holding on, glimmering in the indigo sky and illuminating the clearing. Hux scans the sky until he hears the car pull up and turn off.

Turning, Hux sees Kylo unfold himself from the car, the tense line of his body screaming confusion and uncertainty.

"This is so cool!" Phasma exclaims beside him, face turned up and shining with delight. "How'd you know this place was up here?"

"Kylo and I came the other night." He hadn't mentioned their private rendezvous to Phasma because, honestly, the memory still makes him blush like a virgin, and Phasma loves to tease.

Just as he predicted, Phasma shoots him a sly smile. "Oh?" she drawls.

Hux ignores her. "Kylo!" he calls over his shoulder, where Kylo is still hovering nervously by the car. "Come here!" He looks back up at the sky.

The crunch of large footsteps in the dirt alerts Hux to Kylo's hesitant approach. 

"What--" Kylo clears his throat. "What're we doing here? I thought...I thought we were leaving."

"We are," Hux says. "Trust me, we're getting as far from this place as we can. But first, I need to make sure we're clear on some things." He turns to face Kylo, who's standing slightly behind him. His face is bleached bone-white by the starlight, eyes dark and haunted and skittering away from Hux's own. "Okay?"

Kylo shoves his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what you mean."

Not in the mood to mince words, Hux gets to the point. "You have no reason to feel guilty." Behind him, Phasma shifts her weight, no doubt looking forward to the show.

Kylo shrugs dispassionately, staring at the ground. "You can think that if you want."

"Very well, I will, because it's a fact."

"Whatever."

"Kylo--" Hux snaps his mouth shut against his instinctive anger. He takes a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. "I am not good at this," he says on a rushed exhale, and something about the words or Hux's tone must strike him because Kylo peeks at him through the cascade of his inky hair. "But I am trying because I want this team to work. We tried keeping things from each other and it didn't work, so I'm trying to be a good leader and cut this off at the pass, but I need your help." He fixes Kylo with his most authoritative look. "This wasn't your fault."

"Saying it won't make it true," Kylo mutters.

"I don't have to make it true, it is true," Hux insists, exasperated.

Kylo mumbles something under his breath that Hux can't make out.

"Pardon?" Hux asks irritably. "What was that?"

"I said you have no idea what you're talking about!" Kylo bursts out, pulling his hands out of his pockets and fisting them at his sides, gaze suddenly alight. "You have no idea what I was feeling back there!"

"Then tell me!" Hux yells back, some Pavlovian instinct ratcheting up his temper to match Kylo's. "I _want_ to know--"

"No, you don't!" Kylo's face crumples. "There's no way you could understand it--understand how it feels to look at someone and just--just know you're going to kill them, and that nothing could stop you and you don't _want_ anything to stop you because all you want is to--"

"You're speaking pretty confidently for someone who claimed to know nothing about me a few days ago," Hux cuts in icily. "You have no idea what kinds of things I've experienced." He feels Phasma's hand on his shoulder and he lets it sit there, anchoring him.

Kylo looks shocked. "What? What're you--"

"Kylo," Phasma says, stepping up beside Hux. "We don't think that what you went through wasn't scary, and I bet you're having trouble trusting yourself, but you need to listen to us."

Kylo shakes his head, blinks hard, and his eyes are glistening with unshed tears. "I'd understand if you don't want me around anymore. I can talk to Snoke about quitting the project, tell him it was my idea--"

"Stop making decisions on your own," Hux snaps. "No one said anything about wanting you gone--"

"But Phasma's right!" Kylo shouts. "I don't trust myself! How could I? How could _you_? Maybe this hasn't sunk in for you yet, but I tried to _kill_ you--" Kylo's voice breaks and several tears roll down his cheeks, catching the starlight and gleaming mockingly. "I was completely aware of what I was doing and I couldn't stop! I didn't...I didn't even want to stop...."

"Do you want to kill us now?" Hux demands.

Kylo blinks, more tears falling from his eyes. "What? No, I...of course not, no."

"Then what's the problem?"

Kylo gapes at him for a beat before ducking his head, shoulders hunched. "If what you said about the--the _empathic signatures_ is true, then it's...it's just _dangerous_ to keep me around, isn't it? I'm the only one who'll go flying off the handle, right?" His voice drops into a hoarse rumble. "You're all about _logic_ , aren't you, Hux? Wouldn't it just be _logical_ to remove a potential threat from the team? Surely working with a potential murderer is _inefficient_."

Hux scowls. "I'd appreciate being allowed to make my own decisions, but please, by all means, continue telling me how to manage _my_ team."

"Hux!" Kylo's head shoots up and he narrows damp eyes at Hux. "Be reasonable for _two fucking seconds_ \--"

"That's rich, coming from the most unreasonable person in the state!"

"You have to see how dangerous this is!"

"Everything we do is dangerous, Kylo!" Hux implores. "We harass supernatural entities regularly! We spend hours on end in crumbling, filthy buildings trying to agitate spirits into attacking us! Most people would call us insane. After what we witnessed in South Carolina, do you really thing you're the most dangerous thing we'll ever encounter?"

"Hux, I...." Kylo takes a shaky breath, eyes tracking to Hux's neck, where Hux knows the bruises stand out stark and horrible against his pale skin. Eyes glittering, Kylo raises a trembling hand and, when Hux doesn't lean away, brushes his fingertips against the damaged skin. "I don't want to hurt you guys. In the House, I felt so...out-of-control. I couldn't do anything to stop myself. And I didn't think anything was wrong until it was too late. What if--" Kylo swallows. "What if it happens again? But I don't s--stop? And someone gets really hurt or...or worse? I'm...it's not worth the risk."

Again, Hux raises his hand and grabs Kylo's, squeezing firmly as if he could force all of Kylo's guilt and shame out through sheer strength alone. "We just need to be better about vetting our cases, now that we know what might affect you. And Phasma and I know the signs now. If we think something's wrong, we'll leave."

"You make it sound so simple," Kylo says, shaking his head.

"Believe it or not, sometimes things are simple," Phasma chimes in. "We don't want you to leave, Kylo. This whole thing sucked a lot, but it wasn't your fault, and we can move past it."

"You...you really want me to stay?" Kylo asks, eyes shining with something other than tears.

"Are you selectively deaf or something?" Hux grumbles. He softens at the sight of Kylo's hopeful gaze however. "You're a part of First Order Investigations now. We may not have chosen each other, but it's too late to go back. So, as long as you still want it, you have a place on this team."

Kylo stares at him for a moment, mouth agape and expression open in shock, and Hux holds his gaze as steadily as he can, willing Kylo to understand the things he can't put into words. Hux is _used_ to Kylo now, he _expects_ him. Before Kylo joined the team, Hux had thought his system, his life was airtight, perfectly sealed with no room for anything or anyone new, but then Snoke appointed him babysitter and somehow Kylo had managed to carve out a Kylo-shaped space in Hux's routine. Hux showers at night now because Kylo likes to take his time in the morning, and Hux automatically adds Kylo's favorites to his shopping list. He factors in Kylo's help when mentally packing and unpacking the equipment, even if he just started letting Kylo actually set things up. He anticipates Kylo's bulk in the peaks and valleys of his day and his absence would be...noticeable. 

Perhaps some part of Hux's chaotic desperation gets through, because Kylo bursts into tears, bringing his free hand up to cover his eyes.

Hux shoots a panicked look back at Phasma, but she simply offers a perplexing thumbs-up and an encouraging smile so he looks back at Kylo, whose shoulders are shaking with the force of his sobs. Big displays of emotion have never been his forte, unless the emotion is anger. He has lots of experience with those particular outbursts. But this is Kylo--irascible, petulant, terrified, lonely Kylo-- a man Hux is finally getting to know.

So Hux pulls Kylo in by the hand he's still holding and wraps his arms around him, one hand in Kylo's hair pushing his head gently down onto Hux's shoulder. He can count on two hands the amount of times he's been involved in a hug and on one the amount of times he's initiated one, but something about the way Kylo fits against him feels familiar as Hux winds his arms around Kylo's broad shoulders.

It seems to take a moment for Kylo to register that he's being hugged, but, eventually, he reciprocates, hands inching uncertainly around Hux to settle gingerly against his back and ducking his head further into Hux's shoulder. Hux fists his hands in the fabric of Kylo's jacket and holds on. 

"I just--" Kylo hiccups wetly into the crook of Hux's neck. "I saw how scared you were...back at the House, and...and I don't want to make you feel that way. Ever."

"Kylo this may make me sound very stupid, but when I was running from you in the Ainsley House, the thing I was most worried about, after possibly dying, was how you would feel when you woke up." Hux presses his lips into a thin line. His throat burns in a way that has nothing to do with his injuries. "I was scared for myself, but I was more scared for you because I knew this exact thing would happen." He swallows hard. "I could have stabbed you and saved myself, but I didn't, because I trusted that you'd snap out of it."

"I almost didn't," Kylo whispers, curling tighter around Hux.

"That's neither here nor there," Hux says decisively. "We're not afraid of you, Kylo."

"Yup. Takes more than some scrawny emo kid to scare me," Phasma pipes up right before Hux feels her engulf both of them in her arms.

Kylo laughs weakly. "Thank you," he says quietly into the space between the three of them. 

Phasma lets out a joyful whoop and Hux smiles secretly into Kylo's shoulder.

After another moment of group-hugging at Phasma's insistence, Hux extricates himself. He can only take so much intimacy before he gets antsy. He takes a few steps away from where Phasma is ruffling Kylo's hair, eyes on the horizon.

The band of light has widened, reaching dewy pink fingers across the sky and obscuring the remaining stars. It's officially dawn. In a few moments, the pink will fade to light blue and morning will be upon them.

Hux feels someone at his shoulder and looks to see Kylo standing beside him, gazing out at the lightening sky as well. His face is pale and lined with tear-tracks, but his mouth is soft with a smile as bright as the breaking morning sun. Hux can see the pastel dawn reflected in his eyes, and, as much as Hux dislikes mornings, he thinks he understands the appeal.

As the sun finally shows itself over the horizon, Hux forces his gaze away from Kylo and watches the town below illuminate in quiet awe, leaning slightly into the heat radiating off the man beside him. He should head back into the RV and get going. They need to get out of this town, get on the road toward their next location. Hux needs to take stock, type up his notes on the investigation, email Dr. Holdo with some queries and his own observations, not to mention dealing with whatever fallout his decision to disobey Snoke will have; he has approximately a million things to take care of, but, right now, bathed in soft dawn light with Kylo by his side, he couldn't feel less concerned about any of them.

Armitage Alexis Hux isn't a morning person, but even he can't deny the gentle comfort of a brilliant sunrise. Perhaps mornings aren't so terrible after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> File 03 is in production and I don't want to give too much away, but maybe you should expect some special guests :)
> 
> tw assault: Kylo attacks Hux and Phasma while in an altered state  
> tw asphyxiation: Kylo tries to strangle Hux twice  
> tw slight gore: medical descriptions and descriptions of injuries

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment to encourage me to hurry the fuck up or come see me on tumblr!


End file.
